SPOKANE, Wash., May 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Red Lion Hotels Corporation (NYSE: RLH - News) today announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008, showing continued growth in RevPAR and EBITDA from continuing operations. Summary results for the three month period follow:($ in thousands, except per share) First Quarter 2008 2007 % change Total revenue, as reported $39,559 $39,304 0.6% Continuing operations before 2008 Special Item: (1) EBITDA $3,210 $3,076 4.4% Net loss $(2,153) $(1,980) nm Loss per share - diluted $(0.12) $(0.10) nm Continuing operations as reported: EBITDA $(444) $3,076 nm Net loss $(4,510) $(1,980) nm Loss per share - diluted $(0.25) $(0.10) nm Total loss per share - diluted, as reported $(0.25) $(0.10) nm (1) Excludes certain gains and expenses on the extinguishment of debt and the gain on the disposition of our real estate management business, all in 2006, net of their impact on income taxes. A schedule of the Disclosure of 2006 Special Items is included with this release. In addition, key hotel operating metrics, on a comparable basis, and hotel operating margins for the first quarter are highlighted below for owned and leased hotels: First Quarter 2008 2007 % change RevPAR (revenue per available room) $44.91 $43.23 3.9% ADR (average daily rate) $85.00 $82.27 3.3% Occupancy 52.8% 52.5% +30 bp Hotel Direct Operating Margin 14.9% 12.8% +204 bp
President and Chief Executive Officer Anupam Narayan, commenting on the first quarter results, said, "We were pleased to deliver solid RevPAR growth at our owned and leased hotels that outpaced the competitors in our markets. To accomplish this in the face of a challenging economy and a quarter in which Easter was historically early demonstrates the strength of our Red Lion brand strategy. Further, the increase in our RevPAR helped grow our hotel operating margin. While we are appropriately cautious concerning the economy and our sector, we believe we are tracking well to our 2008 guidance."
Mr. Narayan continued, "With our experienced leadership team and our strong balance sheet, we are delivering both on operations and on our growth strategy of acquiring key hotel assets in strategic western hub cities in the U.S."
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