TORONTO, ONTARIO— Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (FHR) announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2003. The company reported EBITDA of $42.2 million, which met its expectations and represented an increase of 10.8% over the prior year, noted William Fatt, CEO of FHR. “Our owned portfolio continues to benefit from our strength in the leisure market and a considerable Canadian component,” he said. Net income for the first three months was $12.5 million, down slightly from $13.6 million in the year-earlier period. Basic earnings per share was $.16, down from $.17 the same period last year, but better than expected. Higher than expected gains from land sales helped EPS exceed managements expectation of $0.105 – $0.145, said Fatt. Revenues from hotel ownership improved 13.4% to $140.4 million compared to 2002. The acquisitions of The Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii in December 2002 and The Fairmont Copley Plaza Boston this February generated virtually all of this increase, as revenues from the remaining properties were comparable with 2002, said the company. RevPAR was relatively flat at $115.25 compared to $115.83 in the first quarter of 2002, resulting from a 4.0% increase in average daily rate offset by a 2.6 point drop in occupancy.
