Park Hotels & Resorts reports Q4 FFO 52c, consensus 51c

Reports Q4 revenue $657M, consensus $665.2M. Thomas J. Baltimore, Jr., CEO, stated, “2023 was a year of outstanding accomplishments for Park as we executed on our strategic objectives, exceeded our operational goals, and meaningfully strengthened our balance sheet, while delivering sector-leading total returns for shareholders. As we previously reported, our portfolio’s performance was strong during the fourth quarter, with Comparable RevPAR increasing over 4% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, or over 6% if excluding disruption from renovations, primarily at the Casa Marina Key West resort, where operations were largely suspended during the quarter, and the Bonnet Creek Orlando complex. For the full year, both Comparable RevPAR and Adjusted EBITDA increased by nearly 9% from the prior year and exceeded the midpoint of our full-year guidance. In addition to our operating achievements, we remained laser-focused on creating long-term shareholder value and executed important strategic capital allocation initiatives over the past year, returning over $630 million in capital to shareholders, including the repurchase of 14.6 million shares of common stock for $180 million and paying over $450 million of dividends. In addition, we reinvested nearly $300 million back into our current portfolio and will continue to reinvest in our portfolio, including nearly $90 million on upcoming key renovation projects. Turning to 2024, we are excited for the expected benefits from the nearly $400 million invested over the past two years on transformative renovation projects at Casa Marina Key West, the Tapa Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Bonnet Creek Orlando complex, which began 2024 with the highest full-year Group Revenue Pace in the complex’s history. Additionally, strong convention calendars and expected increases in group demand at our New Orleans, Chicago, San Diego and Miami hotels, coupled with ongoing strength in leisure and group demand at our Hawaii hotels from both domestic and international travel create a favorable backdrop for Park. The year is off to a strong start, with January Comparable RevPAR up 13.4% compared to last year and February Comparable RevPAR currently expected to exceed last year by over 8%, reinforcing our positive outlook for our portfolio this year that has allowed us to increase our recurring quarterly dividend by 67% to $0.25 from $0.15 per share.”