Hersha Hospitality Announces Third Quarter Results

Hersha Hospitality Announces Third Quarter Results

- Consolidated Hotel Occupancy of 81% -

- Consolidated Hotel RevPAR Improved 2.1% -

- Consolidated Average Daily Rate Increased 2.3% -

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYS: HT) , owner of upscale hotels in urban gateway markets, today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012.

Third Quarter 2012 Financial Results

Net income applicable to common shareholders increased significantly by $27.7 million to $2.7 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012, compared to a net loss of $(25.0) million for the comparable quarter of 2011.

Adjusted Funds from Operations ("AFFO") in the third quarter were $23.3 million, compared to $24.7 million for the third quarter of 2011. The decrease was driven largely by a $4.4 million reduction in Hotel EBITDA from the sale of the 18 asset non-core portfolio completed earlier in 2012. AFFO per diluted common share and unit of limited partnership interest in Hersha Hospitality Limited Partnership ("OP Unit") were $0.11 compared to $0.14 in same quarter in 2011. The Company's weighted average diluted common shares and OP Units outstanding was approximately 206.6 million in the third quarter of 2012, up from approximately 179.5 million in the comparable quarter of 2011.

"Our portfolio delivered another quarter of rate-driven RevPAR growth in the majority of our key urban markets, although the unexpected weakness at some of our hotels in New York City had a disproportionate impact on our quarterly results," commented Mr. Jay H. Shah, the Company's Chief Executive Officer. "While the New York market was more challenging in the quarter, we are very encouraged by industry-leading contributions from our Boston and Philadelphia hotels, and the outperformance of our recently renovated Washington DC Urban and Metro hotels."

Mr. Shah concluded, "We remain confident in the strength and long term sustainability of the New York market and are encouraged to see fourth quarter trends tracking better than the third quarter. As evidenced by our most recent acquisition of the Hilton Garden Inn, in the Midtown East submarket, we are long term investors in New York and believe that it remains one of the best lodging markets in the country and one that should continue to outperform the overall industry. Our market leverage and asset management focus, combined with the favorable supply/demand environment and the embedded growth in our young portfolio of hotels, will allow Hersha to drive continued RevPAR growth."

Third Quarter 2012 Operating Results

An explanation of Funds from Operations ("FFO"), AFFO, Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization ("EBITDA"), Adjusted EBITDA and Hotel EBITDA, as well as reconciliations of FFO, AFFO, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to net income or loss, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measures, is included at the end of this release.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2012, revenue per available room ("RevPAR") for the Company's consolidated hotels, 56 hotels at September 30, 2012 compared to 50 hotels as of September 30, 2011, was up 2.1% to $130.17 compared to $127.48 in the prior year period. The Company's ADR for its consolidated hotels increased by 2.3% to $161.58, while occupancy for its consolidated hotels decreased by 19 basis points to 80.56%.

Hotel EBITDA for the Company's consolidated hotels grew approximately 11.7% or $3.9 million to $37.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 compared to the same period in 2011. Hotel EBITDA margins were 38.6% in the third quarter of 2012 compared to 41.7% in the same quarter of 2011. Hotel EBITDA margins decreased 1.1% year over year excluding the Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia and the Sheraton Wilmington South in Delaware. Both hotels were acquired or opened within the past year and are full service hotels with a meaningfully lower average operating margin than the Company average.

On a same-store basis (52 hotels), RevPAR for the Company's consolidated hotels for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 was up 1.3% to $130.34 compared to $128.65 in the prior year period. ADR for the Company's same-store consolidated hotels increased by 0.9% to $160.91, while occupancy for its same-store consolidated hotels increased by 0.3% to 81.00%.

Hotel EBITDA for the Company's same-store consolidated hotels for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 decreased approximately 1.1% or $0.4 million to $35.3 million compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2011. Hotel EBITDA margins for the Company's same-store consolidated hotels decreased by 110 basis points to a 40.9% in the third quarter of 2012 compared to 42.0% in the third quarter of 2011 driven largely by lower ADR.

The New York City and Manhattan portfolio ran at occupancy levels in excess of 90% and recorded strong Hotel EBITDA margins of 42.9% and 45.6%, respectively. The Company's same-store Hotel EBITDA margins were primarily impacted by ADR based RevPAR loss in the Company's New York City portfolio.

The Company's top performing market during the quarter was Philadelphia Urban which recorded RevPAR growth of 15.6%. The Company's Boston, California-Arizona and Washington D.C. portfolio also recorded strong quarterly results with RevPAR growth of 7.2%, 6.0% and 4.9%, respectively.

New York City and Manhattan

The New York City hotel portfolio, which includes the five boroughs, consisted of 15 hotels as of September 30, 2012. For the third quarter of 2012, the Company's same-store New York City hotel portfolio (15 hotels) recorded a 0.9% decrease in RevPAR to $186.00, as ADR decreased 0.7% to $206.12 and occupancy decreased 0.2% to 90.24%. Hotel EBITDA margins decreased 320 basis points to 42.9%. Despite the weakness in the third quarter, our New York City portfolio has posted 6.4% RevPAR growth year to date through the third quarter.

The Manhattan hotel portfolio consisted of 12 hotels as of September 30, 2012. For the third quarter of 2012, the Company's same-store Manhattan hotel portfolio (12 hotels) recorded a 1.1% increase in RevPAR to $198.32 as occupancy increased 1.2% to 91.59% while ADR decreased 0.2% to $216.54. Hotel EBITDA margins decreased 220 basis points to 45.6%. Year to date through the third quarter, the Manhattan portfolio has delivered 9.2% RevPAR growth with 40 basis points of EBITDA margin expansion.

The weakness that impacted the Company's New York City performance during the quarter was primarily due to the disappointing September results for the entire market. The weaker than anticipated performance was primarily the result of the timing of two Jewish holidays, significant cancellations by foreign delegations resulting in less than anticipated demand from the UN General Assembly, and an overall lack of compression from low group demand during the quarter.

October RevPAR performance for the Company's Manhattan portfolio is up approximately 6.3% and both the group and transient booking trends continue to show relative strength for the fourth quarter. Prior to the announcement of Hurricane Sandy on October 24^th, the Manhattan portfolio was tracking to an 8% RevPAR growth for October.

Financing

As of September 30, 2012, the Company had $28.0 million of borrowings on its $250.0 million secured credit facility and $83.1 million in cash and escrows. Excluding borrowings under the Company's secured credit facility, approximately 97.6% of the Company's consolidated debt as of September 30, 2012 is fixed rate debt or effectively fixed through interest rate swaps and caps and has a weighted average interest rate of approximately 5.62%. The weighted average life to maturity of total consolidated debt is approximately 5.0 years, excluding borrowings under the Company's secured credit facility.

During the quarter, the Company refinanced its loan on its Courtyard Miami Beach Oceanfront. The new $60.0 million loan has a fixed interest rate of 4.32% and is interest only for the full four-year term.

Acquisitions

The Company purchased the remaining 50% interest it did not previously own in the 130-room Courtyard by Marriott located in Ewing, New Jersey for an assumption of debt and nominal cash considerations.

Subsequent Events

October 2012

The Company entered into a purchase and sale agreement to acquire the 205 room Hilton Garden Inn in New York City for total consideration of $74.0 million, or approximately $361,000 per key. The transaction is expected to close shortly after the developer completes the hotel's construction, anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2013.

The Company also announced that it has received commitments for a new credit facility of $400 million expandable to $550 million at the Company's option. Initially the facility will consist of a $250 million senior unsecured revolving line of credit and a $150 million senior unsecured term loan. The interest rate for the new credit facility is based on a pricing grid with a range of 175 to 265 basis points over LIBOR, based on the Company's leverage ratio. The all in rate, inclusive of swaps, will be 2.60% to 3.50%.

The Revolving Credit Facility, which was formerly a secured facility, will be unsecured and matures three years from the closing date, with the option for an additional one year extension. The Term Loan will be funded as a single draw of $100 million on the closing date and up to $50 million will be available on a delayed draw basis for up to sixty days after the closing date. The Term Loan also matures three years from the closing date with two additional one year extension options. The Company anticipates closing on the new Facility in November 2012.

Outlook for 2012

The Company is amending its 2012 Outlook to reflect third quarter performance, the impact of Hurricane Sandy and its outlook for the fourth quarter. This outlook reflects management's best estimates of disruption resulting from the storm, but it is an evolving situation with many factors, such as the repair work, full power restoration in New York City and other factors beyond the Company's control. Based on these estimates, the Company is issuing the following operating expectations for 2012:

Dividend

For the third quarter of 2012, the Company paid dividends of $0.06 per common share and OP Unit and $0.50 per Series A and Series B preferred share.

Third Quarter 2012 Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call to discuss its financial results at 9:00 AM Eastern time on Thursday, November 1, 2012. A live webcast of the conference call will be available online on the Company's website at www.hersha.com. The conference call can be accessed by dialing (888) 452-4023 or (719) 325-2469 for international participants. A replay of the call will be available from 12:00 noon Eastern Time on November 1, 2012, through midnight Eastern Time on November 15, 2012. The replay can be accessed by dialing (877) 870-5176 or (858) 384-5517 for international participants. The passcode for the call and the replay is 9289141. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company's website for a limited time.

About Hersha Hospitality

Hersha Hospitality Trust is a self-advised real estate investment trust, which owns 64 hotels in major urban gateway markets including New York City, Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Miami totaling 9,221 rooms. HT follows a highly selective investment approach and leverages operational advantage through rigorous and sustainable asset management practices. For further information on the Company visit our website at www.hersha.com.

Forward Looking Statement

Certain matters within this press release are discussed using forward-looking language as specified in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and, as such, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results or performance to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements may include statements related to the Company's ability to outperform, the ongoing recovery of the lodging industry and the markets in which the Company's hotel properties are located, the Company's ability to generate internal and external growth, the completion of acquisitions under contract, the Company's ability to identify and complete the acquisition of hotel properties in new markets, the Company's ability to enter into contracts for and complete the disposition of non-core assets, the Company's ability to complete the hotel redevelopment projects, the Company's ability to increase margins, including Hotel EBITDA margins, and the Company's operating expectations for the full 2012 calendar year. For a description of factors that may cause the Company's actual results or performance to differ from its forward-looking statements, please review the information under the heading "Risk Factors" included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 29, 2012 and other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.