Benzinga | Jul 29, 2021 08:21AM EDT

Hilton Reports Mixed Q2 Results

* Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (NYSE:HLT) reported second-quarter FY21 sales growth of 135% year-on-year, to $1.33 billion, missing the analyst consensus of $1.38 billion.

* Hilton opened 119 new hotels totaling over 19,800 rooms and achieved net unit growth of 17,800 rooms in Q2.

* Total expenses rose 27.6% Y/Y to $1.1 billion.

* The operating margin was 16.9%, and operating income for the quarter was $224 million.

* It reported an occupancy rate of 63.7% in the U.S., with a system-wide occupancy rate of 58.5%, with improvement in all regions.

* Adjusted EBITDA rose 684.3% Y/Y to $400 million.

* Adjusted EPS of $0.56 beat the analyst consensus of $0.38.

* The net debt of the company stood at $7.7 billion as of June 30, 2021.

* "While the pace of recovery varies by region, particularly with the uncertainty surrounding coronavirus variants, we expect continued strength in leisure demand and further upticks in business travel to drive continued resurgence in the back half of the year," said CEO Christopher J. Nassetta.

* Outlook: Hilton sees full-year net unit growth to be 5.0% - 5.5%.

* Price action: HLT shares are trading lower by 0.80% at $128.50 in premarket on the last check Thursday.