Marriott (MAR) stock soars 5% after posting US$468 million profit

Highlights

• Marriott International reported strong fourth-quarter earnings despite Omicron surge.
  
  
• Its revenue more than doubled in the quarter.
  
  
• The Marriott MAR stock returned more than 31% gains in the past 12 months.

Hotel chain Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) on Tuesday posted a fourth-quarter profit of US$458 million in a strong comeback from its losses as travel bookings picked up.

After the results, the Marriott (MAR) stock was up over 5% in intraday trading.

The JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton owner said business and leisure travel bookings saw robust growth in the holiday season despite the Omicron surge at the time, beating estimates.

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Factors that have helped Marriott earnings:

The Maryland-based company benefitted from the increased occupancy rates in its hotels as rapid vaccinations reduced people’s fears for holiday travel.

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North American and Europe had begun relaxing the covid travel restrictions in the fourth quarter. Marriott’s market cap is around US$58.13 billion and runs some 8,000 properties globally.

Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said each region saw a significant recovery in revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the final quarter, compared to the previous quarter. However, China's zero COVID policy stalled the recovery in mainland China, he added.

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Fourth-quarter results:

The company reported revenue of US$4.44 billion in the holiday quarter, up 105% from US$2.17 billion in the year-ago quarter. Its net income came in at US$468 million, or US$1.42 per diluted share, against a loss of US$164 million, or US$0.50 per diluted share in Q4, FY20.

Both the metrics topped analysts' estimates. The occupancy in Marriott's key regions, the US and Canada, was at 60% in Q4, versus 35.1% in the prior year's comparable quarter.

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Bottomline

The Marriott (MAR) stock was priced at US$180.94 at 11:09 am ET on February 15, up 5.61% from its previous close. Over the past 12 months, the stock returned 31.39% gains.

Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said the new bookings across the customer segments have recovered to pre-omicron level despite a hitch in January. He expressed optimism over a global rebound in travel demand in 2022.