Investing.com -- Shares in Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) inched down in after-hours trading, even after the international hotel chain reported stronger than expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday.
During Marriott's second quarter of Fiscal Year 2016, the company reported earnings of $247 million or 0.96 per share, slightly above net profits of $240 million or 0.87 over the same period last year. At the same time, Marriott saw its revenues surge 5.8% to $3.9 billion, as the hotel giant added nearly 11,000 rooms during the second quarter, including approximately 1,700 rooms converted from competitor brands.
Marriott, a Bethesda, Maryland-based company enjoyed a stellar quarter, as the company moves closer to completing a $13.6 billion merger with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE:HOT). Earlier this month, Marriott announced that the companies received antitrust approval from officials in both Saudi Arabia and Mexico. It came days after a European Union commission ruled that the deal would not violate antitrust regulations in the area. Upon the close of the deal, Starwood stockholders will receive 0.8 shares of Marriott common stock plus $21.00 in cash for each share of Starwood common stock. The proposed merger will create the largest hotel chain in the world.
Marriott also reported adjusted per share earnings of 1.03, excluding expenses from the Starwood transaction. Analysts expected to see adjusted per share earnings of 0.98 for the three-month period.
"Marriott's second quarter results demonstrate the company's strength. While hotel performance reflected generally slower economic growth, leisure travel demand remained robust and group business performed well," Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said in a statement.
"Attendance at group meetings was on track during the quarter, group cancellations remain low and we continue to see strong future group bookings. We increased property-level house profit margins at our company-operated hotels, improving efficiency while delivering outstanding service to our guests."
Marriott expects to complete the Starwood transaction in the coming weeks, Sorenson added.
"After months of planning, we are confident that we will hit the ground running and are even more excited about the prospects presented by the combination of Marriott and Starwood," Sorenson said.
Shares in Marriott fell 0.09 or 0.13% to 70.45 in after-hours.