Marriott Posts 12% Gain for 3rd Quarter

Marriott International Inc. said profit in its fiscal third quarter rose 12% to $96 million, or 36 cents a share, matching estimates, as the biggest U.S. hotel operator opened new hotels and raised room prices. The owner of the Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Courtyard hotel chains also said it will buy back as many as 10 million shares of its stock, about 4% of the total outstanding. Revenue rose 11% to $2 billion. Revenue per available room, a key indicator of hotel performance, rose 3%, the same as the previous quarter but just half the growth rate for Marriott’s per-room revenue last year. Marriott opened 227 new hotels and time-share resorts. It also sold more rooms and raised prices at its Ritz-Carlton luxury hotel chain after buying a controlling stake in Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. last year. Marriott manages or franchises more than 1,700 hotels in 57 countries. The company said it has already bought back 5.6 million of its shares this year. Under its new buyback plan, shares will be bought from time to time on the open market. Shares of the Bethesda, Md.-based company rose 13 cents to close at $32.69 on the New York Stock Exchange.