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ResortQuest profits
By Russ Lynch
dip, revenues increase
Star-BulletinResortQuest International Inc., parent of Hawaii's Aston Hotels & Resorts, reported a small dip in first-quarter earnings.
The Memphis, Tenn.-based company said today that the drop was caused by a lack of snow at some of its winter resorts and by operating costs at some vacation businesses it acquired in 1999 that produce most of their income in the summer months. Results from those businesses should begin to show in the second quarter.
The company, which owns more than 20 other vacation property management business across the country, reported a net profit of $2.85 million for the three months through March 31, down 6.2 percent from $3.04 million in the 1999 quarter. Per-share income was 15 cents in the latest quarter, down 12 percent from 17 cents in the 1999 quarter.
Boosted by strong business in its Hawaii operations, where higher room rates more than made up for a small dip in occupancy, ResortQuest reported total revenues of $38.5 million in the latest quarter, up 21.5 percent from $31.7 million in the year-earlier period.
Occupancy in Hawaii averaged 82.3 percent, down from 83.7 percent, the average daily room rate at ResortQuest's Hawaii properties was up 5.9 percent at $113.25, from a year-earlier $106.97.
The daily room rate is the advertised rate; hotels often sell rooms at discounts below that price. The figure after those discounts is revenue per available room, which in the Hawaii properties averaged $93.20 in the 2000 quarter, up 4.1 percent from $89.55 in the 1999 period.
ResortQuest has about 4,900 rooms in Hawaii, most of them in the Aston properties but also including Maui Condominium & Realty, which manages condominiums in Wailea and Kihei. The Hawaii properties and a dozen similar businesses in North America were combined as the basis for ResortQuest's launching by an initial public offering in May 1998.
The company's stock fell 12 cents to $5.62 on the New York Stock Exchange today.
The shares are up 36 percent so far this year. Its latest earnings were in line with analysts' expectations.
