Shares of Marriott International Inc. dropped 1.2% in premarket trading Monday, after the hotel operator reported first-quarter profit that beat expectations but revenue that fell shy, with occupancy increasing to nearly half by the end of the quarter. The company swung to a net loss of $11 million, or 3 cents a share, from net income of $31 million, or 9 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share fell to 10 cents from 49 cents but beat the FactSet consensus of 4 cents. Total revenue dropped 50.5% to $2.32 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $2.38 billion, as revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell 46.3%, both worldwide and in the U.S. and Canada. Occupancy improved during the quarter to 49% in March from 33% in January. “In our largest region, the U.S. & Canada, demand increased rapidly as vaccine rollouts accelerated,” said Chief Executive Tony Capuano. “Leisure demand gained momentum, particularly in ski and beach resort destinations.” The cic not provide financial guidance given uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The stock has climbed 15.7% over the past three months through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.3%.
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