Wyndham Worldwide moves to 4th-quarter profit, prior-year quarter weighed by large charges

Wyndham Worldwide moves to 4th-quarter profit

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Lodging company Wyndham Worldwide Corp. said Wednesday that it moved to a fourth-quarter profit, helped by a slight increase in timeshare revenue, compared with a year-earlier period weighed down by hefty charges.

The results surpassed Wall Street’s expectations, and Wyndham’s stock rose $1.15, or 5.4 percent, to $22.37 at midday. Over the last year, the shares have traded between $2.77 and $23.53.

The company, whose brands include Ramada, Days Inn and Super 8, provided a 2010 revenue forecast in range of analysts’ estimates.

Wyndham earned $73 million, or 40 cents per share, for the quarter. That compares with a loss of $1.36 billion, or $7.63 per share, in the period a year earlier, when the company recorded $8.10 per share in charges. And it beat Wyndham’s prediction it would earn between 35 cents and 38 cents per share.

Revenue for the three months that ended Dec. 31 improved to $913 million from $911 million, topping Wall Street’s estimate of $856 million.

Vacation ownership revenue rose 3 percent to $508 million, and exchange and rental revenue rose 3 percent to $258 million.

Systemwide revenue per available room, a key gauge of a hotel operator’s performance, declined 11.9 percent. The figure fell 13.3 percent in constant currency.

Analyst Steven Kent with Goldman Sachs said Wyndham’s profit topped his estimate of 36 cents per share and its revenue also was better than he expected.

“We believe this quarter is evidence the company’s transformation is on track,” he wrote in a client note.

For the year, Wyndham earned $293 million, or $1.61 per share, compared with a loss of approximately $1.1 billion, or $6.05 per share, for 2008.

Excluding 19 cents per share for one-time items, it earned $327 million, or $1.80 per share, on revenue of $3.75 billion, 12 percent below 2008.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time items, had forecast profit of $1.58 per share on revenue of $3.69 billion.

Looking ahead, Wyndham anticipates 2010 revenue between $3.5 billion and $3.9 billion. Analysts expect revenue of $3.61 billion for the year.

Separately, the company raised its dividend and said it will resume share repurchases.