Apple Hospitality REIT Reports Results of Operations for First Quarter 2023

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE: APLE) yesterday announced results of operations for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023.

Comparable Hotels is defined as the 220 hotels owned by the Company as of March 31, 2023. For hotels acquired during the periods noted, the Company has included, as applicable, results of those hotels for periods prior to the Company's ownership, and for dispositions, results have been excluded for the Company's period of ownership. Results for periods prior to the Company's ownership have not been included in the Company's actual Consolidated Financial Statements and are included only for comparison purposes. Results included for periods prior to the Company's ownership are based on information from the prior owner of each hotel and have not been audited or adjusted.

Justin Knight, Chief Executive Officer of Apple Hospitality, commented, “Continued strength in leisure demand and increased business travel resulted in strong operating fundamentals for the quarter. First quarter 2023 Comparable Hotels RevPAR improved by 19%, ADR increased by 11% and Occupancy was up by more than 7% as compared to first quarter 2022. We work closely with the management teams at our hotels to counter inflationary pressures and improve operating efficiency while maintaining strong guest satisfaction necessary for sustained rate growth. While we are mindful of the potential for macroeconomic headwinds as we move through the year, our business continues to improve. Booking trends remain strong, the supply picture is favorable, and improvements in business travel have lifted midweek occupancies in recent weeks."

Mr. Knight continued, “We continue to execute against an investment strategy that has proven successful through multiple economic cycles. Our portfolio of select-service hotels is broadly diversified across high-end suburban, urban and developing markets that are home to a wide variety of demand generators. Our hotels are franchised with industry-leading brands, managed by some of the best management companies in the industry and provide a strong value proposition with broad consumer appeal. Underlying the strength of our portfolio is a balance sheet with low leverage and financial flexibility, a consistent reinvestment and portfolio management strategy, and a corporate team with tremendous experience. We are confident we are well positioned to continue to outperform and maximize shareholder value in any macroeconomic environment."

Hotel Portfolio Overview

As of March 31, 2023, Apple Hospitality owned 220 hotels with an aggregate of 28,984 guest rooms located in 87 markets throughout 37 states.

First Quarter 2023 Highlights

• Strong operating performance: Comparable Hotels RevPAR was $109, a 19% increase over first quarter 2022 and a 6% increase over first quarter 2019. Comparable Hotels ADR was $152, an 11% increase over first quarter 2022 and a 9% increase over first quarter 2019. Comparable Hotels Occupancy was 72%, a 7% increase over first quarter 2022 and a 2% decline as compared to first quarter 2019. Comparable Hotels Occupancy, ADR and RevPAR exceeded industry averages as reported by STR. Based on preliminary results for the Company's portfolio for the month of April 2023, Comparable Hotels Occupancy was approximately 77%, in line with April 2022 and down 5% as compared to April 2019, with Comparable Hotels ADR growth of approximately 5% compared to April 2022 and 9% compared to April 2019.
• Strong bottom-line performance: The Company achieved Comparable Hotels Adjusted Hotel EBITDA of approximately $107 million, a 21% improvement over first quarter 2022 and a 4% improvement over first quarter 2019. The Company achieved Comparable Hotels Adjusted Hotel EBITDA Margin of approximately 34%, a 60 bps improvement over first quarter 2022 and a 190 bps decline as compared to first quarter 2019.
• Transactional activity: On February 27, 2023, the Company entered into a contract for the potential purchase of the Courtyard by Marriott Cleveland University Circle in Cleveland, Ohio, for $31 million.
• Share repurchases: The Company purchased, under its Share Repurchase Program, approximately 0.3 million of its common shares at a weighted-average market purchase price of approximately $14.22 per common share, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $4 million.
• Balance sheet: The Company has maintained the strength and flexibility of its balance sheet. At March 31, 2023, the Company’s total debt to total capitalization, net of cash and cash equivalents, was approximately 29%. During the first quarter 2023, the Company repaid in full four secured mortgage loans for a total of approximately $37 million, increasing the number of unencumbered hotels in the Company’s portfolio as of March 31, 2023, to 205.
• Monthly distributions: During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company paid distributions totaling $0.32 per common share, including a special cash distribution of $0.08 per common share, that was paid on January 17, 2023, to shareholders of record as of December 30, 2022. Based on the Company’s common stock closing price of $14.87 on May 1, 2023, the current annualized monthly cash distribution of $0.96 per common share represents an annual yield of approximately 6.5%.

The following tables highlight the Company’s monthly performance during the first quarter of 2023, as compared to the first quarters of 2022 and 2019 (in thousands, except statistical data):

Board of Directors

On March 3, 2023, the Company announced the appointment of Carolyn Handlon to its Board of Directors, effective March 1, 2023. Following her appointment to the Board of Directors, Carolyn Handlon was appointed to the Company's Audit Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, effective March 24, 2023.

Portfolio Activity

Contracts for Potential Acquisition

On February 27, 2023, the Company entered into a contract for the potential acquisition of the newly renovated, 154-room Courtyard by Marriott Cleveland University Circle in Cleveland, Ohio, for $31 million. In addition, as previously announced, the Company has an outstanding contract for the purchase of an Embassy Suites by Hilton in Madison, Wisconsin, for an anticipated total purchase price of approximately $79 million. The Embassy Suites in Madison is currently under development and expected to include 260 rooms. There are many conditions to closing on each of these hotels that have not yet been satisfied, and there can be no assurance that closings on these hotels will occur under the outstanding purchase contracts. Assuming all conditions to closing are met, the Company anticipates acquiring the hotel in Cleveland during the second quarter 2023 and the hotel in Madison following completion of construction, which is expected to occur in early 2024.

Capital Improvements

Apple Hospitality consistently reinvests in its hotels to maintain and enhance each property’s relevance and competitive position within its respective market. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company invested approximately $18 million in capital expenditures. The Company anticipates investing approximately $70 million to $80 million in capital improvements during 2023, which includes comprehensive renovation projects for approximately 20 to 25 hotels.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

Summary

As of March 31, 2023, the Company had approximately $1.4 billion of total outstanding debt with a current combined weighted-average interest rate of approximately 4.3%, cash on hand of approximately $6 million and availability under its revolving credit facility of approximately $610 million. Excluding unamortized debt issuance costs and fair value adjustments, the Company’s total outstanding debt as of March 31, 2023, was comprised of approximately $290 million in property-level debt secured by 15 hotels and approximately $1.1 billion outstanding under its unsecured credit facilities, including the remaining $50 million term loan availability which was drawn in January 2023. During the first quarter 2023, the Company repaid in full four secured mortgage loans for a total of approximately $37 million, increasing the number of unencumbered hotels in the Company’s portfolio as of March 31, 2023, to 205. The Company’s total debt to total capitalization, net of cash and cash equivalents at March 31, 2023, was approximately 29%, which provides Apple Hospitality with financial flexibility to fund capital requirements and pursue opportunities in the marketplace. As of March 31, 2023, the Company’s weighted-average debt maturities are 4.4 years.

Capital Markets

Share Repurchase Program

The Company has in place a Share Repurchase Program that provides for share repurchases in open market transactions. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company purchased, under its Share Repurchase Program, approximately 0.3 million of its common shares at a weighted-average market purchase price of approximately $14.22 per common share, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $4 million. As of March 31, 2023, the Company had approximately $339 million remaining under its Share Repurchase Program for the repurchase of shares. Shares were repurchased under a written trading plan as part of the Share Repurchase Program that provides for share repurchases in open market transactions and is intended to comply with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

ATM Program

The Company also has in place an at-the-market offering program (the “ATM Program”). As of March 31, 2023, the Company had approximately $224 million remaining under its ATM Program for the issuance of shares. No shares were sold under the ATM program during the first quarter 2023.

Shareholder Distributions

During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company paid distributions totaling $0.32 per common share, including a special cash distribution of $0.08 per common share, that was paid on January 17, 2023, to shareholders of record as of December 30, 2022. Based on the Company’s common stock closing price of $14.87 on May 1, 2023, the current annualized monthly cash distribution of $0.96 per common share represents an annual yield of approximately 6.5%. While the Company currently expects monthly distributions to continue, each distribution is subject to approval by the Company’s Board of Directors. The Company’s Board of Directors, in consultation with management, will continue to monitor the Company’s distribution rate and timing relative to the performance of its hotels, capital improvement needs, varying economic cycles, acquisitions, dispositions, other cash requirements and the Company’s REIT status for federal income tax purposes, and may make adjustments as it deems appropriate.

2023 Outlook

The Company is providing its operational and financial outlook for 2023, which is unchanged from the 2023 outlook previously provided. Given the current level of visibility into future performance as a result of short-term booking windows for the Company's portfolio of rooms-focused hotels and meaningful macroeconomic uncertainty, this outlook reflects a broad range of Comparable Hotels RevPAR Change, which is the change in Comparable Hotels RevPAR in 2023 compared to 2022, and other key metrics for 2023. This outlook is based on management’s current view and does not take into account any unanticipated developments in its business or changes in its operating environment, nor does it take into account any unannounced hotel acquisitions or dispositions. Results for the first quarter 2023 benefited significantly from the easier comparison to the first quarter 2022 when the Omicron variant negatively impacted lodging demand. The high end of the full year range reflects relatively steady macroeconomic conditions throughout 2023, with continued strength in leisure demand and improvement in business transient. The low end of the range reflects a softening of the economy beginning in the second quarter with Comparable Hotels RevPAR Change roughly flat compared to 2022 in the second half of the year. Comparable Hotels RevPAR Change and Comparable Hotels Adjusted Hotel EBITDA Margin % guidance include properties acquired, as if the hotels were owned as of January 1, 2022, and exclude dispositions and assets held for sale since January 1, 2022. For the full year 2023, the Company anticipates its 2023 results will be in the following range:

About Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc.

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE: APLE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that owns one of the largest and most diverse portfolios of upscale, rooms-focused hotels in the United States. Apple Hospitality’s portfolio consists of 220 hotels with approximately 29,000 guest rooms located in 87 markets throughout 37 states. Concentrated with industry-leading brands, the Company’s portfolio consists of 96 Marriott-branded hotels, 119 Hilton-branded hotels, four Hyatt-branded hotels and one independent hotel.

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc.

Reconciliation of Net Income to EBITDA, EBITDAre, Adjusted EBITDAre and Adjusted Hotel EBITDA

(Unaudited)

(in thousands)

EBITDA is a commonly used measure of performance in many industries and is defined as net income (loss) excluding interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. The Company believes EBITDA is useful to investors because it helps the Company and its investors evaluate the ongoing operating performance of the Company by removing the impact of its capital structure (primarily interest expense) and its asset base (primarily depreciation and amortization). In addition, certain covenants included in the agreements governing the Company’s indebtedness use EBITDA, as defined in the specific credit agreement, as a measure of financial compliance.

In addition to EBITDA, the Company also calculates and presents EBITDAre in accordance with standards established by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“Nareit”), which defines EBITDAre as EBITDA, excluding gains and losses from the sale of certain real estate assets (including gains and losses from change in control), plus real estate related impairments, and adjustments to reflect the entity’s share of EBITDAre of unconsolidated affiliates. The Company presents EBITDAre because it believes that it provides further useful information to investors in comparing its operating performance between periods and between REITs that report EBITDAre using the Nareit definition.

The Company also considers the exclusion of non-cash straight-line operating ground lease expense from EBITDAre useful, as this expense does not reflect the underlying performance of the related hotels (Adjusted EBITDAre).

The Company further excludes actual corporate-level general and administrative expense for the Company from Adjusted EBITDAre (Adjusted Hotel EBITDA) to isolate property-level operational performance over which the Company’s hotel operators have direct control. The Company believes Adjusted Hotel EBITDA provides useful supplemental information to investors regarding operating performance and is used by management to measure the performance of the Company’s hotels and effectiveness of the operators of the hotels.

The following table reconciles the Company’s GAAP net income to EBITDA, EBITDAre, Adjusted EBITDAre and Adjusted Hotel EBITDA on a quarterly basis for 2019, 2022 and 2023:

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc.

Reconciliation of Net Income to FFO and MFFO

(Unaudited)

(in thousands)

The Company calculates and presents FFO in accordance with standards established by Nareit, which defines FFO as net income (loss) (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding gains and losses from the sale of certain real estate assets (including gains and losses from change in control), extraordinary items as defined by GAAP, and the cumulative effect of changes in accounting principles, plus real estate related depreciation, amortization and impairments, and adjustments for unconsolidated affiliates. Historical cost accounting for real estate assets implicitly assumes that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time. Since real estate values instead have historically risen or fallen with market conditions, most real estate industry investors consider FFO to be helpful in evaluating a real estate company’s operations. The Company further believes that by excluding the effects of these items, FFO is useful to investors in comparing its operating performance between periods and between REITs that report FFO using the Nareit definition. FFO as presented by the Company is applicable only to its common shareholders, but does not represent an amount that accrues directly to common shareholders.

The Company calculates MFFO by further adjusting FFO for the exclusion of amortization of finance ground lease assets, amortization of favorable and unfavorable operating leases, net and non-cash straight-line operating ground lease expense, as these expenses do not reflect the underlying performance of the related hotels. The Company presents MFFO when evaluating its performance because it believes that it provides further useful supplemental information to investors regarding its ongoing operating performance.

The following table reconciles the Company’s GAAP net income to FFO and MFFO for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022:

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc.

2023 Guidance Reconciliation of Net Income to EBITDA, EBITDAre, Adjusted EBITDAre, Adjusted Hotel EBITDA and Comparable Hotels Adjusted Hotel EBITDA

(Unaudited)

(in thousands)

The guidance of net income, EBITDA, EBITDAre, Adjusted EBITDAre, Adjusted Hotel EBITDA and Comparable Hotels Adjusted Hotel EBITDA (and all other guidance given) are forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forecasts. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in the forecasts are based upon reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that the expectations will be achieved or that the results will not be materially different. Risks that may affect these assumptions and forecasts include, but are not limited to, the following: changes in political, economic, competitive and specific market conditions; the amount and timing of acquisitions and dispositions of hotel properties; the level of capital expenditures may change significantly, which will directly affect the level of depreciation expense, interest expense and net income; the amount and timing of debt repayments may change significantly based on market conditions, which will directly affect the level of interest expense and net income; the amount and timing of transactions involving the Company's common stock may change based on market conditions; and other risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business described herein and in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.

The following table reconciles the Company’s GAAP net income guidance to EBITDA, EBITDAre, Adjusted EBITDAre, Adjusted Hotel EBITDA and Comparable Hotels Adjusted Hotel EBITDA guidance for the year ending December 31, 2023: