Investing.com -- Shares in Marriott International (O:MAR) fell mildly in after-hours trading after the multinational hotel chain posted mixed results with its third quarter earnings and revenues on Wednesday.
For the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2015, which ended in late-September, Marriott reported earnings of $210 million or 0.78 per share, up considerably from earnings of $192 million or 0.65 per share over the same quarter in 2014. At the same time, Marriott's revenue rose 3.4% to $3.58 billion, falling short of analysts' expectation for sales of $3.65 billion for the three-month period.
Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson blamed an unfavorable shift in several holidays on the 2015 calendar for denting revenues in its group business on a year-over-year basis. Nevertheless, Sorenson noted that revenues in the company's North American RevPAR system still jumped by 4% on the period.
"Our company posted solid performance in the third quarter. Our hotels are full with occupancy at nearly 78 percent allowing us to continue to raise rates and reduce lower-rated business to drive RevPAR," Sorenson said in a statement. In addition, Marriott's worldwide comparable revenue per available room, a closely-watched industry metric, rose 4.5% on a constant currency basis. Marriott's average daily rates also rose sharply to above $150 per room.
"Our global development pipeline continues to increase, reaching more than 260,000 rooms at the end of the quarter as owner and franchisees continue to choose our brands," Sorenson added. "Combined, our pipeline and open rooms exceed one million rooms worldwide. Recently unveiled in the U.S., Moxy and AC Hotels have a combined five hotels open and 82 hotels signed or approved domestically. Our newest brand, Delta Hotels, expects to open its first U.S. property later this year, a conversion from a competitor's brand."
Shares in Marriott fell 1.39 or 1.81% to 76.89 in after-hours trading.