Wyndham Worldwide on Thursday reported a 21% increase in net profit for the third quarter, making Wyndham the first major hospitality company to report a jump in income for the quarter.
Wyndham said net earnings rose to $142 million from $117 a year earlier. Revenue rose 1% to $1.2 billion.
Revenue per available room, a key measure of industry performance, was down 2.7%, reflecting declines of 4.2% and 1.7% in domestic and international markets, respectively.
But Wyndham’s timeshare sales were up 3%, and most ost companies are reporting declines in that sector. Starwood Hotels & Resorts last week said it was shutting sales offices and moving to get out of all but a few high-end timeshare resorts.
Still, Wyndham -- whose 12 hotel brands include Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8 and Howard Johnson -- said it expects a tough fourth quarter.
"We produced solid operating results during the quarter in a difficult global economic environment," said Stephen Holmes, Wyndham Worldwide's chairman and CEO. "We are taking the necessary steps to best weather this storm and, if necessary, we will make further adjustments. The diversity and flexibility of our business model enables us to adjust to changes in the marketplace to optimize our performance."
The company has laid off some workers over the past few months but has declined to say how many.