Morgans Hotel Group Reports Third Quarter 2014 Results

NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ: MHGC) (the "Company") today reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. 

Highlights

• Adjusted EBITDA was $11.0 million in the third quarter of 2014. Excluding a termination fee in 2013 and a litigation settlement related to The Light Group ("TLG") in 2014, Adjusted EBITDA increased 15.2% over the same period in 2013 primarily driven by a 16.1% increase in EBITDA at Owned Hotels.
• Revenue per available room ("RevPAR") for System-Wide Comparable Hotels increased by 3.7% on a year-over-year basis during the third quarter of 2014.
• Operating margins at the Company's Owned Hotels and leased food and beverage operations increased approximately 425 basis points during the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013, primarily as a result of cost saving initiatives implemented in 2014.
• In early September 2014, the Company's second Delano-branded hotel, opened at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Delano Las Vegas, a 1,117 all-suite luxury hotel, is the Company's first licensed hotel and is operated by affiliates of MGM Resorts International ("MGM").
• On September 30, 2014, the Company expanded the Mondrian brand internationally with the opening of Mondrian London, a 359-room luxury hotel located on London's South Bank.
• The Company added 10 guestrooms at Hudson during the third quarter of 2014 and has an additional two guestrooms under conversion which are expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2014. The Company currently has 60 single room occupancy units ("SROs") remaining at Hudson, together with other space in the hotel, which it intends to convert into guest rooms in the future.

Jason T. Kalisman, Interim Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We continued to make significant progress during the third quarter to extend our brands by opening two new spectacular hotels, the Delano Las Vegas and the Mondrian London.  We believe our mix of unique and valuable properties and expanded geographic footprint, combined with our ongoing commitment to operational excellence, provides us with greater stability and a stronger platform from which we can grow.  As a result, we are well positioned to capitalize on future opportunities and look forward to building on the momentum of the first three quarters as we complete what has been a transformative year for the Company."

Third Quarter 2014 Operating Results

Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2014 was $11.0 million, a 6.4% decrease over the same period in 2013.  Excluding a termination fee related to Ames in Boston of $0.9 million received in 2013 and a $1.5 million litigation settlement related to TLG paid in 2014, Adjusted EBITDA increased 15.2% in the third quarter of 2014 over the same period in 2013.  During the third quarter of 2014, the Company revised its definition of Adjusted EBITDA to include the operating results of Clift, an owned hotel, as discussed further below in "Non-GAAP Financial Measures." Excluding Clift and the previously mentioned one-time items, Adjusted EBITDA increased 17.9% in the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013.

The Company's Owned Hotels experienced increases in EBITDA during the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013 due to a 35.6% increase at Delano South Beach, a 15.9% increase at Hudson, and a 7.3% increase at Clift.  The increases were primarily due to operating efficiencies.   

RevPAR at System-Wide Comparable Hotels, all of which are located in the United States, increased by 3.7% in the third quarter of 2014 from the comparable period in 2013, driven by a 1.8% increase in occupancy and 1.9% increase in average daily rate ("ADR"). 

RevPAR from System-Wide Comparable Hotels in New York increased 1.5% in the third quarter of 2014 over the same period in 2013, due to an increase in occupancy of 1.6% to 92.7%.  RevPAR at Hudson increased by 1.3% during the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013.  Occupancy at Hudson increased by 1.8% to 94.9% year-over-year reflecting strong demand.  ADR at Hudson declined 0.5% primarily as a result of an increase in competitive room supply, as a nearby competitor was undergoing a renovation in 2013 that was completed in 2014.  Food and beverage revenues at Hudson were up 7.8%, reflecting the continued success of Hudson Common.  Mondrian SoHo's RevPAR increased by 4.6% during the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013, primarily due to increased market share. 

RevPAR from System-Wide Comparable Hotels in Miami was flat in the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013.  Delano South Beach experienced a RevPAR decrease of 6.0% during the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013 primarily due to the World Cup's impact on European and Latin American travel in July and lower group business in August. The softness in July and August was partially offset by a strong RevPAR increase in September.  

The Company's System-Wide Comparable Hotels on the West Coast generated 11.2% RevPAR growth in the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013, with a 16.8% RevPAR increase at Mondrian Los Angeles and a 7.6% RevPAR increase at Clift.   

The Company's managed hotels in London, Sanderson and St Martins Lane, are non-comparable due to a major room and common area renovation that began in the first quarter of 2014 resulting in a decrease in RevPAR of approximately 8.8% in average dollars due to rooms being out of service during the third quarter of 2014.  The majority of the guestroom renovations at Sanderson are complete and renovation on the remaining guestrooms at St Martins Lane will resume in the first quarter of 2015.

Management fees decreased $1.7 million, or 24.4%, during the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013.  Food and beverage management fees decreased primarily due to revisions in the management fee structure with MGM effective January 1, 2014 to a more incentive based model.  Additionally, the Company received a termination fee related to Ames in Boston during the third quarter of 2013.  

Hotel operating expenses decreased by 7.3% due primarily to property-level cost-saving initiatives implemented in May 2014.  As a result, operating margins at the Company's Owned Hotels and leased food and beverage operations increased approximately 425 basis points during the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013.

Corporate expenses, excluding stock compensation expense, increased by $1.3 million, or 23.3%, during the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013. This increase was largely due to a $1.5 million litigation settlement related to TLG and higher public company legal expenses, which was partially offset by cost savings from the corporate workforce reduction in March 2014. 

Interest expense increased by $1.4 million, or 12.1%, during the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the same period in 2013, primarily due to the new financing secured by Hudson and Delano South Beach in February 2014, which resulted in a larger debt balance outstanding during the third quarter of 2014 as compared to the third quarter of 2013.  

The Company recorded a net loss of $10.1 million for the third quarter of 2014 compared to a net loss of $10.3 million for the third quarter of 2013 as operational efficiencies in 2014 offset the impact of one-time items in 2013 and 2014.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

The Company's total consolidated debt at September 30, 2014, including the Company's capital lease at Clift, was $673.6 million. 

At September 30, 2014, the Company had approximately $96.3 million in cash and cash equivalents.

During the third quarter of 2014, the Company repurchased $35.4 million of outstanding Convertible Notes at a discount of approximately $0.1 million plus accrued interest.   In October 2014, the Company's remaining outstanding Convertible Notes of approximately $49.1 million matured and were repaid with cash on hand.  Also in October 2014, the Company funded its Mondrian London key money obligation of £9.4 million, or approximately $15.2 million. 

As of September 30, 2014, the Company had approximately $373.0 million of remaining Federal tax net operating loss carryforwards to offset future income, including gains on future asset sales.

Development

The Company opened two high-profile hotels in the third quarter of 2014.  Delano Las Vegas, a 1,117-room hotel at Mandalay Bay, opened in early September and is operated under a license agreement with MGM.  This all-suite hotel features a unique sand-meets-water design and blends signature elements of Delano South Beach with the distinct energy only found on the Las Vegas Strip.  Mondrian London, a 359-room hotel operated under a long-term management agreement, opened on September 30, 2014.  Mondrian London fuses inventive food, beverage and entertainment offerings with groundbreaking design to produce a vibrant hub on London's South Bank. This is the first Mondrian-branded hotel outside the United States, representing the evolution and expansion of the Mondrian brand. The hotel offers guests and locals an urban boutique hotel experience that is youthful, energetic, and aspirational, while remaining distinctly authentic to its South Bank London location. 

Additionally, the Company has a franchise agreement for 10 Karakoy, a 71-room Morgans Original in Istanbul, Turkey which is expected to open in November 2014 and a management agreement for a Mondrian in Doha, Qatar which is expected to open in the second quarter of 2015.

Late in the third quarter of 2014, the Company signed a letter of intent ("LOI") for a new hotel in the United States.   The Company also has two other LOIs for hotels in the Middle East, which we believe could be converted into management agreements in the near-term.

In September 2014, the Company and hotel owner mutually agreed to terminate the Delano Moscow management agreement.  As a result, the Company was relieved of its $10.0 million key money obligation, of which $3.0 million had already been funded and was refunded back to the Company in September 2014.  The Company was also relieved of its $8.0 million potential cash flow guarantee. 

During the third quarter of 2014, the Company converted eight additional SROs, together with other space, into 10 new guest rooms and anticipates the completion of two additional rooms in the fourth quarter of 2014.  The total cost of these 12 new guestrooms was approximately $2.3 million. The Company currently has 60 SROs remaining at Hudson, together with other space in the hotel, which it intends to convert into guest rooms in the future.

Investor Conference Call

As previously announced, the Company will host a conference call to review the quarter's results on Friday, November 7, 2014 at 9:00 AM Eastern time. The call will be webcast live over the Internet and will be accessible at www.morganshotelgroup.com under the Investors section. Participants should follow the instructions provided on the website for the download and installation of audio applications necessary to join the webcast.

The call will also be accessible live over the phone by dialing (877) 741-4244 (within U.S.) or (719) 325-4753 (outside U.S.) and providing the following passcode: 6123776.  A playback of the conference call will be available beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET, Friday, November 7, 2014, through November 14, 2014.  To access the playback, please dial (888) 203-1112 (within U.S.) or (719) 457-0820 (outside U.S.) and enter passcode 6123776.

Additional Definitions

"Adjusted EBITDA" means adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization as further defined below, as adjusted for certain items as described below in "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."  During the third quarter of 2014, the Company changed its definition of Adjusted EBITDA to include the operating results of Clift, an owned hotel. Management believes the inclusion of Clift, which is subject to a 99-year lease and accounted for as a financing, is a more accurate depiction of the Company's operating results and is consistent with the Company's presentation of Clift in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("U.S. GAAP"). Prior periods have been restated to include Clift's operating results in Adjusted EBITDA.  

"EBITDA" means earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization.

"Owned Hotels" means Hudson in New York, Delano South Beach in Miami Beach, and Clift in San Francisco, which the Company leases under a long-term lease.

"System-Wide Comparable Hotels" means all Morgans Hotel Group branded hotels operated by the Company, except for hotels added or under major renovation during the current or the prior year, development projects and hotels no longer managed by the Company.  System-Wide Comparable Hotels for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013 exclude Sanderson and St Martins Lane in London, which were both under major renovations during 2014, Mondrian London, which opened on September 30, 2014, Delano Las Vegas, a licensed hotel, Ames, which the Company no longer manages effective July 17, 2013, Delano Marrakech, which the Company no longer manages effective November 12, 2013, and Hotel Las Palapas, which is not a Morgans Hotel Group branded hotel, and as of April 1, 2013, was no longer managed by the Company.

About Morgans Hotel Group

Morgans Hotel Group Co. (NASDAQ: MHGC) is widely credited as the creator of the first "boutique" hotel and a continuing leader of the hotel industry's boutique sector. Morgans Hotel Group operates Delano in South Beach, Mondrian in Los Angeles, New York, South Beach and London, Hudson in New York, Morgans and Royalton in New York, Clift in San Francisco, Shore Club in South Beach and Sanderson and St Martins Lane in London.  Morgans Hotel Group has ownership interests or owns several of these hotels. Morgans Hotel Group also licenses a Delano in Las Vegas. Morgans Hotel Group has other hotels in various stages of development to be operated under management or franchise agreements, including a Mondrian property in Doha, Qatar and a Morgans Original in Istanbul, Turkey. Morgans Hotel Group also owns a 90% controlling interest in The Light Group, a leading lifestyle food and beverage company. For more information please visit www.morganshotelgroup.com.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements  

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the operating performance of our investments and financing needs. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "potential," "intend," "expect," "endeavor," "seek," "anticipate," "estimate," "overestimate," "underestimate," "believe," "could," "project," "predict," "continue" or other similar words or expressions.   These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's expectation related to its development efforts, including the opening of new hotels in the future, the conversion of letters of intent into management agreements, and renovations at Hudson.

Important risks and factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to economic, business, competitive market and regulatory conditions such as: a downturn in economic and market conditions, both in the U.S. and internationally, particularly as it impacts demand for travel, hotels, dining and entertainment; the Company's levels of debt, its ability to refinance its current outstanding debt, repay outstanding debt or make payments on guaranties as they may become due, general volatility of the capital markets and the Company's ability to access the capital markets and the ability of our joint ventures to do the foregoing; the impact of financial and other covenants in the Company's loan agreements and other debt instruments that limit the Company's ability to borrow and restrict its operations; the Company's history of losses; the Company's ability to compete in the "boutique" or "lifestyle" hotel segments of the hospitality industry and changes in the competitive environment in the Company's industry and the markets where it invests; the Company's ability to protect the value of its name, image and brands and its intellectual property; risks related to natural disasters, terrorist attacks, the threat of terrorist attacks and similar disasters; risks related to the Company's international operations, such as global economic conditions, political or economic instability, compliance with foreign regulations and satisfaction of international business and workplace requirements; the Company's ability to timely fund the renovations and capital improvements necessary to maintain its properties at the quality of the Morgans Hotel Group and associated brands; risks associated with the acquisition, development and integration of properties and businesses; the risks of conducting business through joint venture entities over which the Company may not have full control; the Company's ability to perform under management agreements and to resolve any disputes with owners of properties that the Company manages but does not wholly own; potential terminations of management agreements; the impact of any material litigation, claims or disputes, including labor disputes; the seasonal nature of the hospitality business and other aspects of the hospitality industry that are beyond the Company's; our ability to comply with complex U.S. and international regulations, including regulations related to the environment, labor, food and beverage operations and data privacy; ownership of a substantial block of our common stock by a small number of investors and the ability of such investors to influence key decisions; the impact of any dividend payments or accruals on our preferred securities on our cash flow and the value of our common stock; the impact of any strategic alternatives considered by the special transaction committee of our Board of Directors and/or pursued by the Company; and other risk factors discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 13, 2014, and other documents filed by the Company with the SEC from time to time. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, based upon information known to management as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligations to update or revise any of its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes show that indicated results or events will not be realized.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

The Company believes that EBITDA is a useful financial metric to assess its operating performance before the impact of investing and financing transactions and income taxes. It also facilitates comparison between the Company and its competitors. Given the significant investments that the Company and its joint ventures have made in the past in property and equipment, depreciation and amortization expense comprises a meaningful portion of our cost structure. The Company believes that EBITDA will provide investors with a useful tool for assessing the comparability between periods because it eliminates depreciation and amortization expense attributable to capital expenditures.

The Company's management has historically used adjusted EBITDA ("Adjusted EBITDA") when evaluating the operating performance for the entire Company as well as for individual properties or groups of properties because it believes the Company's core business model is that of an owner and operator of hotels and food and beverage venues, and the inclusion or exclusion of certain items is necessary to provide the most accurate measure of on-going core operating results and to evaluate comparative results period over period.  As such, Adjusted EBITDA excludes other non-operating expense (income) that does not relate to the on-going performance of our assets.  The Company excludes the following items from EBITDA to arrive at Adjusted EBITDA:

• Other non-operating expenses, such as costs associated with discontinued operations and previously owned hotels, both consolidated and unconsolidated, transaction costs related to business acquisitions, changes in the fair value of debt and equity instruments, miscellaneous litigation and settlement costs and other expenses that relate to the financing and investing activities of the Company;
• Restructuring and disposal costs, which include expenses incurred related to the Company's corporate restructuring initiatives, such as professional fees, litigation and settlement costs, executive terminations and severance costs related to such restructuring initiatives, including the March 2014 corporate office termination plan and proxy contests, and gains or losses on asset disposals as part of major renovation projects or restructuring;
• Development costs, including transaction costs related to the acquisition or termination of projects, internal development payroll and other costs and pre-opening expenses incurred related to new concepts at existing hotel and the development of new hotels, and the write-off of abandoned development projects previously capitalized;
• Impairment loss on development projects and hotels and receivables from unconsolidated joint ventures. To the extent that economic conditions do not continue to improve, the Company may incur additional non-cash impairment charges related to assets under development, wholly-owned assets, or our investments in joint ventures. The Company believes these adjustments are necessary to provide the most accurate measure of core operating results as a means to evaluate comparative results;
• EBITDA related to hotels and food and beverage entities reported as discontinued operations to more accurately reflect the operating performance of assets in which the Company expects to have an ongoing direct or indirect ownership interest;
• Stock-based compensation expense, as this is not necessarily an indication of the operating performance of the Company's assets; and
• Gains recognized on asset sales, as the Company believes that including them in Adjusted EBITDA is not consistent with reflecting the ongoing performance of its assets. In addition, the Company believes material gains or losses from the net book value of disposed assets is not particularly meaningful given that the depreciated asset value on which the gains are calculated often does not reflect market value of the assets.

The Company also makes an adjustment to EBITDA for hotels in which its percentage ownership interest has changed to facilitate period-over-period comparisons and to more accurately reflect the operating performance of assets based on its actual ownership.  In this respect, the Company's method of calculating Adjusted EBITDA may change from prior quarters, and calculations of Adjusted EBITDA could continue to vary from quarter to quarter to reflect changing ownership interests.

The Company believes Adjusted EBITDA provides management and its investors with a more accurate financial metric by which to evaluate our performance as it eliminates the impact of costs incurred related to investing and financing transactions.  Internally, the Company's management utilizes Adjusted EBITDA to measure the performance of its core on-going operations and is used extensively during its annual budgeting process.  Management also uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measure in determining the value of acquisitions, expansion opportunities, and dispositions and borrowing capacity.  Adjusted EBITDA is a key metric which management evaluates prior to execution of any strategic investing or financing opportunity. 

The Company has historically reported Adjusted EBITDA to its investors and believes that this continued inclusion of Adjusted EBITDA provides consistency in its financial reporting and enables investors to perform more meaningful comparisons of past, present and future operating results and to evaluate the results of its core on-going operations.   

The use of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA has certain limitations. The Company's presentation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may be different from the presentation used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. Depreciation expense for various long-term assets, interest expense, income taxes and other items have been and will be incurred and are not reflected in the presentation of EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA. Each of these items should also be considered in the overall evaluation of the Company's results. Additionally, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect capital expenditures and other investing activities and should not be considered as a measure of the Company's liquidity. The Company compensates for these limitations by providing the relevant disclosure of its depreciation, interest and income tax expense, capital expenditures and other items in its reconciliations to its financial measures under U.S. GAAP and/or in its consolidated financial statements, all of which should be considered when evaluating its performance. The term EBITDA is not defined under U.S. GAAP and EBITDA is not a measure of net income, operating income, operating performance or liquidity presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, EBITDA is impacted by reorganization of businesses and other restructuring-related charges. When assessing the Company's operating performance, you should not consider this data in isolation, or as a substitute for the Company's net income, operating income or any other operating performance measure that is calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

A reconciliation of net loss, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure, to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for each of the respective periods indicated is as follows:

Contacts:
Investors
Richard Szymanski
Morgans Hotel Group Co.
212.277.4188

Media
Daniel Gagnier/
Nathaniel Garnick
Sard Verbinnen & Co
212.687.8080

SOURCE Morgans Hotel Group Co.

Related Links

http://www.morganshotelgroup.com