Hiltons quarterly profit jumps on strong travel demand

Hilton expects profit in 2023 on strong travel demand

(Reuters) -Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc said on Thursday it expects a full-year profit for 2023, encouraged by strong travel demand and high room rates that boosted hotel chain operators quarterly earnings.

On an adjusted basis, Hilton expects profit to be between $5.42 and $5.68 per share, compared with analyst expectations of $5.60 per share.

The hospitality sectors recovery from the pandemic has been turbocharged by a strong appetite for travel due to household savings and a hybrid model of work, helping the industry offset rising labor costs.

For the fourth quarter, Hilton said RevPAR (revenue per available room), a key metric for investors, rose 24.8% on a currency neutral basis from a year earlier.

Excluding items, Hilton earned $1.59 per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, beating analyst expectations of $1.22 per share. Its revenues rose to $2.44 billion, compared with $2.38 billion as per Refinitiv data.

(Reporting by Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)