Huazhu Group Limited Announces Its Preliminary Results for Hotel Operation in the Third Quarter of 2018

SHANGHAI, China, Oct. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huazhu Group Limited (NASDAQ: HTHT) (“Huazhu”, or the “Company”), a leading and fast-growing multi-brand hotel group in China, today announced its preliminary results for the hotel operation in the third quarter ended September 30, 2018.

2018 Q3 Revenues expected to exceed the high-end of guidance
Due to the better-than-expected hotel performance, the unaudited revenue for 2018 Q3 exceeded the high end of our previous revenue guidance (10.5%-12.5%) by a few percentage points, subject to the review by our auditors.

Operating Metrics

Hotel Development

Business Update by Segment

The Company consolidated the results of the acquired Crystal Orange Hotels since May 25, 2017, which has a significant impact on our blended RevPAR, as follows:

About Huazhu Group Limited
Huazhu Group Limited is a leading hotel operator and franchisor in China. As of September 30, 2018, the Company had 4,055 hotels or 409,516 rooms in operation. With a primary focus on economy and midscale hotel segments, Huazhu’s brands include Hi Inn, Elan Hotel, HanTing Hotel, HanTing Premium Hotel, JI Hotel, Starway Hotel, Manxin Hotel, Joya Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, Orange Hotel Select, Orange Hotel and Blossom Hill. The Company also has the rights as master franchisee for Mercure, Ibis and Ibis Styles, and co-development rights for Grand Mercure and Novotel, in Pan-China region.
The Company's business includes leased and owned, manachised and franchised models. Under the lease and ownership model, the Company directly operates hotels typically located on leased or owned properties. Under the manachise model, the Company manages manachised hotels through the on-site hotel managers it appoints and collects fees from franchisees. Under the franchise model, the Company provides training, reservation and support services to the franchised hotels and collects fees from franchisees but does not appoint on-site hotel managers. The Company applies a consistent standard and platform across all of its hotels. As of September 30, 2018, Huazhu Group operates 21 percent of its hotel rooms under lease and ownership model, 79 percent under manachise and franchise models.

For more information, please visit the Company’s website: http://ir.huazhu.com .

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The information in this release contains forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. Such factors and risks include our anticipated growth strategies; our future results of operations and financial condition; the economic conditions of China; the regulatory environment in China; our ability to attract customers and leverage our brand; trends and competition in the lodging industry; the expected growth of the lodging market in China; and other factors and risks detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, which may be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “will,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “forecast,” “project,” or “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Readers should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events or results.
The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law.

Contact Information
Investor Relations
Tel: 86 (21) 6195 9561
Email: ir@huazhu.com
http://ir.huazhu.com

Source: Huazhu Group Limited