Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. quarterly report, Q2 FY2019

Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. — Q2 2019 Form 10-Q

Reporting period: Three and six months ended June 30, 2019. The company is a REIT focused primarily on premium-branded select-service hotels. At quarter-end it owned 69 hotels with 10,715 guestrooms in 24 states. Unless stated otherwise, financial amounts below are in millions.

Financial performance and operating metrics

MetricQ2 2019Q2 2018Six months 2019Six months 2018
Total revenue$142.9$152.2$281.9$292.4
Net income$49.1$37.7$62.0$47.4
Net income attributable to common stockholders$45.2$33.9$54.4$34.7
Diluted EPS$0.43$0.32$0.52$0.33
FFO per common share/unit$0.34$0.40$0.63$0.65
AFFO per common share/unit$0.37$0.40$0.68$0.71
Adjusted EBITDAre$52.4$55.2$99.1$101.9

Hotel performance: Same-store revenue rose 1.2% in Q2 and 2.3% for the first half. Same-store RevPAR increased 1.1% in Q2 and 2.1% year to date, as ADR gains offset slightly lower Q2 same-store occupancy (down 13 basis points). Total-portfolio RevPAR increased 5.6% in Q2 and 4.9% for the first half; management attributed this partly to portfolio changes, including sales of lower-RevPAR hotels and 2018 additions with higher RevPAR.

Cash flow and liquidity: First-half operating cash flow was $75.3, down from $84.4 a year earlier. Investing activities provided $106.4, mainly reflecting $144.0 of net disposition proceeds; financing activities used $178.4, including debt repayments and dividends. Cash and cash equivalents were $48.8 at June 30; restricted cash was another $27.1. The company reported $375.0 available to borrow under its $400.0 million revolver and said it expected available resources to meet liquidity needs for at least 12 months.

Debt: Gross debt was $834.5 ($829.0 net of issuance costs), down from $965.0 gross at year-end 2018. The weighted-average interest rate, after derivatives, was 4.21%. Swaps left 66% of debt fixed-rate and 34% variable-rate; management estimated a 1 percentage-point rate increase would reduce annual cash flow by approximately $2.8. The company was in compliance with debt covenants and had $3.5 of scheduled principal amortization and no debt maturities in the next 12 months.

Material changes and unusual items

  • Total revenue fell 6.1% in Q2 and 3.6% in the first half, primarily reflecting hotel dispositions; same-store revenue increased in both periods.
  • Reported earnings benefited substantially from gains on hotel sales: $35.5 in Q2 2019 versus $17.3 in Q2 2018, and $39.7 for the first half versus $17.3. Accordingly, net income rose while FFO, AFFO and Adjusted EBITDAre declined year over year.
  • The company sold eight hotels in the first half for aggregate proceeds described as $146.6, recognizing gains of approximately $40.8. Net proceeds were used to reduce revolving-credit borrowings. It recorded a $1.7 impairment on the Hyatt Place in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
  • Adoption of the new lease standard on January 1, 2019 resulted in $23.6 of incremental right-of-use assets and lease liabilities at adoption. At June 30, right-of-use assets were $29.3 and lease liabilities were $18.9.
  • Derivative fair-value movements reduced first-half other comprehensive income by $14.8; all four interest-rate swaps were liabilities at quarter-end.

Outlook, commentary and risks

Management described the national lodging outlook as stable but expected modest 2019 RevPAR growth, citing an industry forecast of 1.0% for Upscale hotels. It identified weaker economic or travel demand, increased hotel supply, labor and other operating-cost inflation, interest rates, financing availability, and acquisition, disposition and renovation execution as risks. The company estimated 2019 capital expenditures of $50–$60, compared with $32.6 funded in the first half. It generally intended to keep indebtedness-to-EBITDA at no more than 6.5x.

Subsequent to quarter-end, the company announced a joint venture with GIC: Summit expects to invest 51% of the equity and GIC 49%, with an anticipated overall leverage target of 50%. On July 29, the board declared a $0.18 per-share common dividend and preferred dividends payable August 30, 2019. The filing reported no pending litigation believed to have a material effect and no material changes to the risk factors in the 2018 Form 10-K.

Important facts for investors to verify

  • Underlying hotel trends: same-store RevPAR and expense growth, and how sales and portfolio composition affect reported results.
  • How much reported earnings depend on asset-disposition gains versus recurring operating performance; review FFO, AFFO and Adjusted EBITDAre alongside GAAP results.
  • Debt reduction, revolver availability, covenant headroom, refinancing needs and exposure to variable rates and the LIBOR transition.
  • Whether planned capital spending and the GIC joint venture proceed on expected terms, and their effects on liquidity, leverage and returns.
  • Hotel operating risks, including demand, new supply, labor costs, renovation costs and potential further impairment.