Sunstone Hotel Investors Reports Results for First Quarter 2011

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (the "Company") (NYSE: SHO) today announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.

First Quarter 2011 Operational Results (1):

• Total revenue was $162.6 million.
• RevPAR for the Pro Forma Comparable 33 Hotel Portfolio was $110.21.
• Income available to common stockholders was $45.7 million.
• Income available to common stockholders per diluted share was $0.39.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $32.2 million.
• Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders was $8.3 million.
• Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders per diluted share was $0.07.
• Hotel EBITDA margin for the Pro Forma Comparable 33 Hotel Portfolio was 22.8%.

Ken Cruse, President, stated, "Year-to-date, we have meaningfully enhanced the quality and growth potential of our portfolio by acquiring three high-quality, well-located hotels: the 460-room Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square; the 494-room JW Marriott New Orleans; and the 1,190-room Hilton San Diego Bayfront. We have also effectively recycled capital by selling the Royal Palm Miami Beach project. Additionally, in the first quarter of 2011 we completed a number of quality-enhancing hotel renovation projects, including major renovations at the Embassy Suites Chicago, Marriott Tysons Corner and Marriott Boston Quincy. While our renovation program has resulted in some short-term displacement and margin pressure, we believe the program will meaningfully enhance the growth potential of our portfolio. On a pro forma basis, our upgraded 33 hotel portfolio produced a strong 7.6% RevPAR increase as compared to the first quarter last year."  Mr. Cruse continued, "Going forward we will remain focused on internal value creation through asset management and select renovations.  Accordingly, we are in the process of bolstering our asset management function to improve our oversight of sales and revenue management, and we are working to implement additional efficiency measures aimed at producing stronger margin performance throughout our portfolio. Lastly, we remain focused on balance sheet initiatives aimed at increasing the value of our common shares and improving our financial flexibility and credit statistics."

1. RevPAR and hotel EBITDA margin information presented reflect the Company's Pro Forma Comparable 33 Hotel Portfolio, which includes the Company's 32 Comparable Hotels owned by the Company as of March 31, 2011, excluding the Royal Palm Miami Beach which has been classified as Held for Sale as of March 31, 2011 and included in discontinued operations for the three months ended March 31, 2011.  The Royal Palm Miami Beach was sold in April 2011. The Pro Forma Comparable 33 Hotel Portfolio also includes prior ownership results for the Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square, acquired by the Company in January 2011, the JW Marriott New Orleans, acquired by the Company in February 2011, and the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, acquired by the Company in April 2011, for all periods presented.

1. Includes the 32 Comparable Hotels owned by the Company as of March 31, 2011, excluding the Royal Palm Miami Beach which has been classified as Held for Sale as of March 31, 2011 and included in discontinued operations for the three months ended March 31, 2011.  The Royal Palm Miami Beach was sold in April 2011. Includes the Renaissance Westchester, reacquired by the Company in June 2010, the Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square, acquired by the Company in January 2011, and the JW Marriott New Orleans, acquired by the Company in February 2011, for all periods presented.
2. Includes the Company's 33 Hotel Pro Forma Comparable Portfolio, which includes the Company's 32 Comparable Hotels noted above, plus the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, acquired by the Company in April 2011.
3. Includes the Company's 33 Hotel Pro Forma Comparable Portfolio adjusted for nine hotels which are currently under renovation.
4. Reflects the Series C convertible preferred stock on a "non-converted" basis. On an "as-converted" basis, FFO available to common stockholders per diluted share is $0.63 and $0.01, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010. On an "as-converted" basis, Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders per diluted share is $0.08 and $0.05, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2010.

Disclosure regarding the non-GAAP financial measures in this release is included on page 5. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measure for each of the periods presented are included on pages 9 through 14 of this release.  

Acquisition Update

On April 15, 2011, the Company completed the previously announced acquisition of a 75% majority interest in the joint venture that owns the 1,190-room Hilton San Diego Bayfront (the "Hotel") located in San Diego, California. Concurrent with the acquisition, the joint venture entered into a new mortgage financing secured by the Hotel. The mortgage bears interest at a floating rate of LIBOR plus 325 basis points and matures in 2016.

Disposition Update

On April 8, 2011, the Company completed the previously announced sale of the 409-room Royal Palm Miami Beach for $130.0 million, including $40.0 million in cash and a $90.0 million mortgage secured purchase money loan to the buyer which matures in December 2013. The mortgage secured purchase money loan bears interest at a floating rate of LIBOR plus 500 basis points through December 2012, and LIBOR plus 600 basis points for 2013. The Company also retained an earn-out right which will enable it to receive future payments of up to $20.0 million in the event that the hotel achieves certain return hurdles.

Balance Sheet/Liquidity Update

On April 6, 2011, the Company completed an underwritten public offering of 4,600,000 shares of 8.0% Series D Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (the "Series D Preferred Stock"), including the full exercise of the underwriters' overallotment option, for gross proceeds of $115.0 million.

As of March 31, 2011, the Company had approximately $214.6 million of cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash of $61.4 million. Subsequent to the end of the first quarter 2011, the Company increased its cash balance with approximately $111.0 million of net proceeds from the Series D Preferred Stock offering and approximately $40.0 million from the sale of the Royal Palm Miami Beach, and utilized approximately $180.9 million of its cash balance for the acquisition of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.

As of March 31, 2011, total assets were $2.8 billion, including $2.4 billion of net investments in hotel properties, total debt was $1.5 billion and stockholders' equity was $1.1 billion.

John Arabia, Chief Financial Officer, stated, "In the past several months, we have deployed a portion of our excess cash, including a portion of the proceeds from our recently completed preferred equity offering, into the acquisition of three high-quality hotels.  While our external growth opportunities are robust, our balance sheet initiatives, as well as our renovation and asset management priorities, are equally important elements of our corporate strategy.  Therefore, we intend to deploy capital only in ways that are additive to the intrinsic value of our common shares and improve our leverage and financial flexibility."  Mr. Arabia continued, "We continue to hold excess cash, have access to multiple forms of capital, and have the liquidity to meet our near-term capital requirements, including our planned partial paydown of the $270 million loan on our Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square hotel.  We remain committed to gradually and methodically reducing our financial leverage while growing the company."  

Capital Improvements

During the first quarter of 2011, the Company invested $32.6 million in capital improvements to its portfolio.  The Company's capital improvements program is aimed at value-adding renovation and repositioning projects, including the following:

Highlighted projects

• Marriott Boston Long Wharf (Total project: $18.9 million, 2011 investment: $1.3 million) - Renovation and redesign of all public space, porte - cochere and the restaurant to be completed by the end of Q2 2011.
• Renaissance Orlando at Sea World ®  (Total project: $9.8 million, 2011 investment: $4.2 million) - Renovation of guest suites and meeting space, a pool and backyard reinvention with new interactive water features and a 10,000 sq-ft function lawn, an addition of a Family Technology Room with game systems and other technology, and the completion of the roof restoration to be completed by end of Q4 2011.
• Renaissance Westchester (Total project: $4.0 million, 2011 investment: $3.4 million) - Renovation of the guest rooms HVAC system and an elevator systems upgrade to be completed by the end of Q3 2011.
• Embassy Suites Chicago (Total project: $12.3 million, 2011 investment: $1.0 million) - Renovation of guest suites, corridors and lobby were completed in Q1 2011.
• Marriott Boston Quincy (Total project: $6.7 million, 2011 investment: $0.4 million) - Renovation of guest rooms and concierge lounge, and the addition of paid automated parking were completed in Q1 2011.
• Marriott Tysons Corner (Total project: $6.6 million, 2011 investment: $3.5 million) - Renovation of guest rooms and building exterior with the addition of paid automated parking were completed in Q1 2011.

Sunstone Executive Management Team Update

The Company appointed Robert C. Springer as Senior Vice President of Acquisitions. Mr. Springer's employment with the Company is expected to begin on or about May 30, 2011.  Mr. Springer will lead the Company's external growth and capital recycling initiatives.  Specifically, Mr. Springer will oversee the process for sourcing, underwriting and closing targeted single asset and portfolio acquisitions, as well as selective asset dispositions and capital initiatives.  

Ken Cruse stated, "We are very excited to add Robert to our dynamic team of lodging industry professionals.  He brings a wealth of skills, experience and industry relationships to Sunstone.  We have worked with, and across from, Robert on a number of transactions over the last decade, and we look forward to Robert becoming a key member of our leadership team."

Mr. Springer was most recently a Vice President in Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s Merchant Banking Division and has been a key player in the firm's principal lodging investing activity primarily through the Whitehall Street Real Estate series of private equity funds, as well as the Goldman Sachs Real Estate Mezzanine Partners fund.  Mr. Springer's involvement with these funds spanned all aspects of hotel equity and debt investing, as well as asset management of numerous lodging portfolios.  Mr. Springer joined Goldman, Sachs & Co. in 2006. 

Prior to joining Goldman, Sachs & Co., Mr. Springer worked in both the feasibility and acquisitions groups at Host Hotels & Resorts and was integral to the acquisition of several large lodging deals.  Mr. Springer started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Hospitality Consulting Group and earned his Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration from Cornell University. 

2011 Outlook

The Company is providing guidance at this time but does not undertake to make updates for any developments in its business or changes in the operating environment. Achievement of the anticipated results is subject to risks and uncertainties, including those disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Company has provided guidance for the full year 2011. The Company's guidance does not take into account any additional hotel acquisitions, dispositions or financings during 2011. 

For the full year 2011, the Company expects:

• Pro Forma Comparable 33 Hotel Portfolio RevPAR to increase 6.0% to 8.0%.
• Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $204 million to $215 million.
• Adjusted FFO of approximately $92 million to $103 million.
• Adjusted FFO per share of approximately $0.78 to $0.88.

Dividend Update

On May 5, 2011, the Company's board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.50 per share payable to its Series A and Series D cumulative redeemable preferred stockholders and a cash dividend of $0.393 per share payable to its Series C cumulative convertible redeemable preferred stockholders. The dividends will be paid on July 15, 2011 to stockholders of record on June 30, 2011.  No dividend was declared on the Company's common stock.

Subject to certain limitations, the Company intends to make dividends on its stock in amounts equivalent to 100% of its annual taxable income. The level of any future dividends will be determined by the Company's board of directors after considering taxable income projections, expected capital requirements, and risks affecting the Company's business.  In light of the Company's intent to distribute 100% of its annual taxable income, future dividends may be reduced from past levels, or eliminated entirely.  Dividends may be made in the form of cash or a combination of cash and stock consistent with Internal Revenue Code regulations.

Mr. Arabia stated, "We are reinstating our policy of providing earnings guidance in order to increase our disclosure and transparency.  Adjusting for changes to our seasonality and timing of recent acquisitions, we believe that second quarter Adjusted EBITDA will account for approximately 27% to 28% of our full year Adjusted EBITDA. Based on our current forecasts, and assuming current business conditions continue, Sunstone is likely to generate positive taxable income in 2011. Should this be the case, we would expect to pay dividends on our common stock for the taxable year."

Earnings Call

The Company will host a conference call to discuss first quarter 2011 results on May 6, 2011, at 12:00 pm. EDT (9:00 a.m. PDT). A live web cast of the call will be available via the Investor Relations section of the Company's website.  Alternatively, investors may dial 1-877-941-9205 (for domestic callers) or 1-480-629-9835 (for international callers). A replay of the web cast will also be archived on the website.

About Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. ("Sunstone") is a lodging real estate investment trust ("REIT") that owns 33 hotels comprised of 13,457 rooms.  Sunstone's hotels are primarily in the upper upscale segment and are generally operated under nationally recognized brands, such as Marriott, Fairmont, Hilton and Hyatt. For further information, please visit Sunstone's website at www.sunstonehotels.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws and regulations. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will" and other similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions and forecasts of future results. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks include, but are not limited to: volatility in the debt or equity markets affecting our ability to acquire or sell hotel assets; national and local economic and business conditions, including the likelihood of a prolonged U.S. recession; the ability to maintain sufficient liquidity and our access to capital markets; potential terrorist attacks, which would affect occupancy rates at our hotels and the demand for hotel products and services; operating risks associated with the hotel business; risks associated with the level of our indebtedness and our ability to meet covenants in our debt and equity agreements; relationships with property managers and franchisors; our ability to maintain our properties in a first-class manner, including meeting capital expenditure requirements; our ability to compete effectively in areas such as access, location, quality of accommodations and room rate structures; changes in travel patterns, taxes and government regulations, which influence or determine wages, prices, construction procedures and costs; our ability to identify, successfully compete for and complete acquisitions; the performance of hotels after they are acquired; necessary capital expenditures and our ability to fund them and complete them with minimum disruption; our ability to continue to satisfy complex rules in order for us to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes; and other risks and uncertainties associated with our business described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. All forward-looking information in this release is as of May 5, 2011, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations.

This release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Copies of these reports are available on our website at www.sunstonehotels.com and through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System ("EDGAR") at www.sec.gov.

The following tables include 2010 operating statistics for the Company's Pro Forma Comparable 33 Hotel Portfolio, which includes the 32 hotels owned by the Company as of March 31, 2011, excluding the Royal Palm Miami Beach, and includes the Hilton San Diego Bayfront acquired by the Company on April 15, 2011.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We present the following non-GAAP financial measures that we believe are useful to investors as key measures of our operating performance: (1) Earnings Before Interest Expense, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization, or EBITDA; (2) Adjusted EBITDA (as defined below); (3) Funds From Operations, or FFO; (4) Adjusted FFO (as defined below); and (5) comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA and comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA margin for the purpose of our operating margins.

EBITDA represents income available (loss attributable) to common stockholders excluding: (1) preferred stock dividends; (2) interest expense (including prepayment penalties, if any); (3) provision for income taxes, including income taxes applicable to sale of assets; and (4) depreciation and amortization. In addition, we have presented Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes: (1) amortization of deferred stock compensation; (2) the impact of any gain or loss from asset sales; (3) impairment charges; and (4) other adjustments we have identified in this release. We believe EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance because these measures help investors evaluate and compare the results of our operations from period to period by removing the impact of our capital structure (primarily interest expense and preferred stock dividends) and our asset base (primarily depreciation and amortization) from our operating results. We also use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as measures in determining the value of hotel acquisitions and dispositions. Reconciliations of income available (loss attributable) to common stockholders to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are set forth on pages 9 through 13.  Reconciliations and the components of comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA and comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA margin are set forth on page 14. We believe comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA and comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA margin are also useful to investors in evaluating our property-level operating performance.

We compute FFO in accordance with standards established by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or NAREIT, an industry trade group. The Board of Governors of NAREIT in its March 1995 White Paper (as clarified in November 1999 and April 2002) defines FFO to mean income available (loss attributable) to common stockholders (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding gains and losses from sales of property, plus real estate-related depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs), and after adjustment for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. We also present Adjusted FFO, which excludes prepayment penalties, written-off deferred financing costs, impairment losses and other adjustments we have identified in this release. We believe that the presentation of FFO and Adjusted FFO provide useful information to investors regarding our operating performance because they are measures of our operations without regard to specified non-cash items such as real estate depreciation and amortization, gain or loss on sale of assets and certain other items which we believe are not indicative of the performance of our underlying hotel properties.  We believe that these items are more representative of our asset base and our acquisition and disposition activities than our ongoing operations. We also use FFO as one measure in determining our results after taking into account the impact of our capital structure.  Reconciliations of income available (loss attributable) to common stockholders to FFO and Adjusted FFO are set forth on pages 9 through 13.  

The revenue and expense items associated with our two commercial laundry facilities, BuyEfficient and other miscellaneous non-hotel items have been shown below the hotel EBITDA line in presenting comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA margins. Management believes the calculation of comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA results in a more accurate presentation of hotel EBITDA margins of the Company's 32 hotel comparable portfolio and 33 hotel pro forma comparable portfolio. See page 14 for reconciliations of comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA to the comparable GAAP measure. Our 32 hotel comparable portfolio includes all hotels owned by the Company as of March 31, 2011, excluding the Royal Palm Miami Beach, which has been classified as Held for Sale as of March 31, 2011 and included in discontinued operations for the three months ended March 31, 2011.  The Royal Palm Miami Beach was sold in April 2011. The 32 hotel comparable portfolio also includes operating results for the Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square, acquired by the Company in January 2011, the JW Marriott New Orleans, acquired by the Company in February 2011, and the Renaissance Westchester during 2010 while the hotel was held in receivership prior to the Company's reacquisition of the hotel in June 2010. Our 33 hotel pro forma comparable portfolio includes the Hilton San Diego Bayfront acquired by the Company in April 2011 for all periods presented.

We caution investors that amounts presented in accordance with our definitions of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, FFO, Adjusted FFO, comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA and comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA margin may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies, because not all companies calculate these non-GAAP measures in the same manner. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, FFO, Adjusted FFO, comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA and comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA margin should not be considered as an alternative measure of our net income (loss), operating performance, cash flow or liquidity. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, FFO, Adjusted FFO, comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA and comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA margin may include funds that may not be available for our discretionary use due to functional requirements to conserve funds for capital expenditures and property acquisitions and other commitments and uncertainties. Although we believe that EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, FFO, Adjusted FFO, comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA and comparable and pro forma comparable portfolio hotel EBITDA margin can enhance an investor's understanding of our results of operations, these non-GAAP financial measures, when viewed individually, are not necessarily a better indicator of any trend as compared to GAAP measures such as net income (loss) or cash flow from operations. In addition, you should be aware that adverse economic and market conditions may harm our cash flow.

For Additional Information:

Bryan Giglia
Senior Vice President – Corporate Finance
Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.
(949) 382-3036

SOURCE Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.