Hilton Worldwide has reported its first quarter 2016 results showing an adjusted EBITDA increased 9% to £448m for the three months ended March 31, 2016, compared to £411m in like-for-likes.
Management and franchise fees were £280m in the first quarter of 2016, an increase of 5% compared to the same period in 2015. RevPAR at comparable managed and franchised hotels in the first quarter of 2016 increased 1.9% on a currency neutral basis (a 0.9% increase in actual dollars) compared to the same period in 2015.
Revenues from the ownership segment were £668m in the first quarter of 2016, and ownership segment Adjusted EBITDA was £142m, an increase of 13% from the same period in 2015.
Hilton Worldwide opened 67 hotels consisting of over 9,200 rooms, of which nearly 25 percent were conversions from non- Hilton brands, and achieved net unit growth of 6,500 rooms during the first quarter of 2016.
As of March 31, 2016, Hilton Worldwide had the largest rooms pipeline in the lodging industry, with approximately 281,000 rooms at 1,729 hotels throughout 81 countries and territories, including 25 countries and territories where Hilton Worldwide does not currently have any open hotels. Over 145,000 rooms, or more than half of the pipeline, were located outside of the US.
Additionally, over 139,000 rooms, or approximately half of the pipeline, were under construction. At over 19%, Hilton Worldwide also has the largest share of rooms under construction globally. Including all agreements approved but not signed, Hilton Worldwide's pipeline totaled nearly 300,000 rooms, which will be almost entirely funded by third-party owner investment.
Christopher J. Nassetta, President & CEO, said, 'We are pleased with our start to the year with Adjusted EBITDA exceeding the high end of guidance.
'We continue to organically expand the global presence of our 13 distinct, market-leading brands, with over 9,200 new rooms opening in the quarter, including openings in two new countries, resulting in net unit growth that was 16 percent higher than the first quarter of last year.
'Construction started on the first Tru by Hilton in the quarter and we now have 48 in the pipeline and 170 more committed or in progress, representing the fastest growth of a new brand in Company history.'