Ashford Hospitality Trust Announces Earnings Expectations for 2008, Sets Earnings Call for February 26th
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Ashford Hospitality Trust Announces Earnings Expectations for 2008, Sets Earnings Call for February 26th
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Category: Worldwide - Industry economy
- Figures / Studies
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2009-01-21
Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE: AHT) today announced its preliminary expectations for RevPAR, Adjusted Funds from Operations and Cash Available for Distribution for the year ended December 31, 2008.
The Company expects to report a decline of 2.0% in RevPAR for all hotels for the year ended December 31, 2008, and a decline of 8.8% in RevPAR for the fourth quarter of 2008. Not including nonrecurring items which include severance payments, gains or losses on asset values, one-time finance charges, etc., Ashford also expects to report AFFO of approximately $1.29 to $1.33 per diluted share and CAD of approximately $1.00 to $1.04 per diluted share for the year compared with $1.28 per diluted share and $1.01 per diluted share, respectively in 2007.
Commenting on the announcement, Monty J. Bennett, Ashford's President and CEO, stated, "Although it remains our policy to refrain from guidance, we are releasing expectations for 2008 key performance measures earlier than normal. We determined that the significant favorable variance in our expected performance relative to the consensus opinion on our 2008 results warranted market awareness. Also, providing the market with an earlier update on our performance makes sense particularly at this unique time when there is limited industry operating visibility and given the lag in traditional reporting periods for us at year end. These results indicate our strategies are working to offset unprecedented lodging industry challenges.
"Our AFFO and CAD performance is directly related to our pre-emptive capital markets moves to reduce interest expense by swapping virtually all of our debt to floating LIBOR rates. Asset management strategies continue to drive bottom line performance to maintain margins as best as possible. The diversity of our assets by location and price segment is further assisted by our strong brand affiliations to perform better than the overall industry. With approximately $195 million cash on hand, just $29 million in hard debt maturities in 2009, low interest rates as result of our swap to floating and the recent restructure of the revolving credit facility, we believe we have sufficient liquidity based upon our operating projections and better covenant capacity to operate in this challenging market. We continue to manage aggressively in all areas of our business."
Ashford plans to issue its earnings release for the fourth quarter after the market closes on Wednesday, February 25, 2009, and will host a conference call on Thursday, February 26, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. ET. The number to call for this interactive teleconference is (303) 262-2175.
A replay of the conference call will be available through Thursday, March 5, 2009, by dialing (303) 590-3000 and entering the confirmation number, 11124956#.
The live broadcast of Ashford Hospitality Trust's quarterly conference call will be available online at the Company's web site, www.ahtreit.com, as well as http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=54809 on Thursday, February 26, 2009, beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET. The online replay will follow shortly after the call and continue for approximately one year.
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