Marriott swings to loss as coronavirus devastates bookings

Marriott International Inc. swung to a second-quarter loss as the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a sharp drop in room bookings.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based hotel operator lost $234 million, or an adjusted 64 cents per share, in the three months through June as revenue plunged 72% from a year ago to $1.46 billion.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
MAR	MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL INC.	289.09	+3.49	+1.22%

The results, which were shy of the 42-cent loss and $1.68 billion of revenue that Wall Street analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting, include a $77 million pre-tax impairment charge due to COVID-19.

Marriott earned $232 million a year ago.

“While our business continues to be profoundly impacted by COVID-19, we are seeing steady signs of demand returning,” CEO Arne Sorenson said in a statement.

Revenue per available room fell 84.4 percent globally and 83.6 percent in North America as worldwide occupancy was 18.2 percent, down 57.4 percentage points from last year. The average daily rate was $104.97, off 35% year over year.

Ninety-one percent of hotels worldwide have reopened. Greater China, where all hotels have reopened, continues to lead the rebound with occupancy rates reaching 60% versus 70% a year ago. Worldwide occupancy, which bottomed at 11% in early April, had rebounded to 34% in the week ended Aug. 1. In North America, 96% of hotels have reopened their doors.

The company added 75 new properties during the quarter, raising its total number of rooms by 11,407 to about 1.4 million.

Net liquidity at the end of June totaled $4.4 billion, including $2.3 billion cash.

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Marriott shares were down 38% this year through Friday, lagging the S&P 500's 3.73% gain.