Hilton Clocks 106% Revenue Growth In Q4; Optimistic About Acceleration Of Recovery In 2022

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc HLT reported fourth-quarter FY21 sales growth of 106.3% year-on-year, to $1.836 billion, marginally beating the analyst consensus of $1.83 billion.
Franchise and licensing fees revenue rose 84.9% Y/Y, and the Owned and leased hotels revenue increased 158.1%.
The occupancy rate for the quarter was 63.3% in the U.S., 56.8% in Europe, and 67.1% in Middle East & Africa. In total, the System-wide occupancy rate was 61.3%.
System-wide comparable RevPAR increased 104.2% Y/Y but decreased 13.5% versus the same period in 2019.
Total expenses for the quarter rose 38.6%. The operating margin was 18.1%, and operating income for the quarter was $333 million versus $(195) million last year.
Adjusted EBITDA of $512 million increased 150.9% Y/Y. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 1320 basis points to 65.4%.
Adjusted EPS of $0.72 missed the analyst consensus of $0.74.
It held cash and equivalents of $1.51 billion as of December 31, 2021.
"Although new variants of the virus have had some short-term impact, we are optimistic about the acceleration of recovery across all segments during 2022," said CEO Christopher J. Nassetta.
Hilton expects full-year 2022 net unit growth to be about 5.0%.
Price Action: HLT shares traded lower by 0.57% at $157.10 in premarket on the last check Wednesday.