China Lodging Group, Limited Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2012 Financial Results

• Net Revenues increased 35.7% year-over-year for the fourth quarter and 43.3% for the full year of 2012, exceeding the high end of previously announced guidance.
• Adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels (non-GAAP)¹ increased 23.8% for the fourth quarter and 43.6% for the full year of 2012.
• Net income attributable to China Lodging Group, Limited was RMB18.2 million (US$2.9 million)²for the fourth quarter and RMB174.9 million (US$28.1 million) for the full year of 2012. Diluted net earnings per ADS³ for the year were RMB2.83 (US$0.45); adjusted diluted net earnings per ADS (non-GAAP) for the year were RMB3.17 (US$0.51), representing a growth of 49.5% from prior year.
• A total of 1,035 hotels or 113,650 hotel rooms in operation as of December 31, 2012
• The Company provided guidance for full year 2013 net revenues growth of 26% to 29% and Q1 net revenue growth of 30% to 32%.

SHANGHAI, China, March 6, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- China Lodging Group, Limited (Nasdaq:HTHT) ("China Lodging Group" or the "Company"), a leading and fast-growing multi-brand hotel group in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2012.

Fourth Quarter 2012 Operational Highlights

• During the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company opened 50 leased ("leased-and- operated") hotels and 70 net manachised ("franchised-and-managed") hotels.
• The occupancy rate for all hotels in operation (excluding franchised Starway hotels) was 92% in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with 93% in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 97% in the previous quarter. The slight year-over-year decrease was mainly because our fast expansion led to a higher percentage of manachised hotels at the ramping-up stage during the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to a year ago. The sequential decrease resulted mainly from seasonality.
• The ADR, which is defined as the average daily rate for all hotels in operation (excluding franchised Starway hotels), was RMB176 in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with RMB179 in the fourth quarter of 2011 and RMB183 in the previous quarter. The year-over-year decrease was mainly attributable to the city mix shifting toward lower-tier cities, partially offset by an increase in same-hotel ADR. The sequential decrease resulted mainly from seasonality.
• RevPAR, defined as revenue per available room for all hotels in operation (excluding franchised Starway hotels), was RMB162 in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with RMB167 in the fourth quarter of 2011 and RMB178 in the previous quarter.  RevPAR for leased hotels was RMB167 in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with RMB170 in the fourth quarter of 2011, and RMB183 in the previous quarter. 
• For all hotels which had been in operation for at least 18 months (excluding franchised Starway hotels), the same-hotel RevPAR was RMB179 for the fourth quarter of 2012, a 2% increase from RMB175 for the fourth quarter of 2011, with a 1% increase in ADR and a one percentage-point increase in occupancy rate.

Full Year 2012 Operational Highlights

• For the full year of 2012, the Company opened 121 net new leased hotels and 221 net new manachised hotels, a total of 342 hotels, exceeding our previously announced guidance. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 465 leased hotels, 516 manachised hotels, and 54 franchised Starway hotels in operation in 171 cities. The leased and manachised hotel rooms in operation increased by 35% and 72%, respectively, from a year ago.
• As of December 31, 2012, the Company had a total pipeline of 410 new hotels, including 80 leased hotels and 330 manachised hotels.
• For the full year of 2012, the occupancy rate for all hotels in operation (excluding franchised Starway hotels) was 94%, two percentage points higher than 2011. 
• For the full year of 2012, the ADR was RMB178, compared to RMB180 in 2011. The decrease was primarily due to the shift of city mix of hotels toward lower-tier cities, partially offset by an increase in same-hotel ADR.
• For the full year of 2012, the RevPAR for all hotels in operation, excluding franchised Starway hotels, was RMB168, a 2% increase from RMB165 in 2011.  RevPAR for leased hotel was RMB 173, a 4% increase from RMB167 in 2011.
• For all the hotels which had been in operation for at least 18 months, excluding franchised Starway hotels, the same-hotel RevPAR was RMB186 in 2012, a 6% increase from RMB176 in 2011, with a 2% increase in ADR and a three percentage-point increase in occupancy rate.
• As of December 31, 2012, the Company's loyalty program had more than 8 million members, who contributed more than 80% of room nights sold during the full year of 2012. In 2012, 96% of room nights were sold through the Company's own channels.

"We are delighted that we concluded 2012 with a strong result, exceeding 1,000 hotels and covering 171 cities," said Mr. Qi Ji, founder, executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of China Lodging Group. He continued: "Our blended hotel occupancy and RevPAR both improved even though we expanded scale and penetrated our business into lower-tier cities. Our same-hotel RevPAR for the full year improved by 6%, thanks to our strong brands, highly-motivated work force and well-established management system. In 2012, we made remarkable progress in executing our multi-brand strategy and proudly changed our Chinese name from Hanting to Hua Zhu. From Hi Inn to Joya Hotel, our product offerings now cover price range from RMB 100 to RMB 1000. We expect each of our brands to serve as a successful consolidator in its respective segment. We expect those successes, in whole, will make Hua Zhu a major force in the large and fast-growing China lodging market." 

Fourth Quarter and full year of 2012 Financial Results

Total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012 were RMB936.7 million (US$150.3 million), representing a 35.8% year-over-year increase and a 1.2% sequential decrease. The year-over-year increases were primarily due to the growth of our number of hotels. The sequential decrease was mainly due to seasonality.

Total revenues for the year of 2012 were RMB3,419.3 million (US$548.8 million), representing an increase of 43.3% from the year of 2011.

Total revenues from leased hotels for the fourth quarter of 2012 were RMB831.1 million (US$133.4 million), representing a 32.6% year-over-year increase and a 1.8% sequential decrease.

For the year of 2012, total revenues from leased hotels were RMB3,069.4 million (US$492.7 million), representing a 41.3% year-over-year increase. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 465 leased hotels in operation, compared with 344 at the end of 2011.

Total revenues from manachised and franchised hotels for the fourth quarter of 2012 were RMB105.6 million (US$16.9 million), representing a 67.1% year-over-year increase and a 4.6% sequential increase.

For the year of 2012, total revenues from manachised and franchised hotels were RMB349.9 million (US$56.1 million), representing a year-over-year increase of 64.5%, and accounting for 10.2% of total revenues, compared to 8.9% of total revenues for the year of 2011. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had 516 manachised hotels and 54 franchised Starway hotels in operation, compared with 295 manachised hotels at the end of 2011.

Net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2012 were RMB883.2 million (US$141.8 million), representing a year-over-year increase of 35.7% and a 1.2% sequential decrease.

Net revenues for the full year of 2012 were RMB3,224.5 million (US$517.6 million), representing a year-over-year increase of 43.3%.

Hotel operating costs for the fourth quarter of 2012 were RMB694.1 million (US$111.4 million), compared to RMB493.8 million (US$78.5 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011 and RMB630.0 million (US$100.2 million) in the previous quarter, representing 40.6% and 10.2% increases, respectively. The Company's hotel network expansion, especially the growth in leased hotels, was the main driver for the increase in hotel operating costs. The average number of leased hotels in operation⁴ during the fourth quarter of 2012 increased 33.7% from the same period of 2011 and 9.6% sequentially. Total hotel operating costs excluding share-based compensation expenses (non-GAAP) for the fourth quarter of 2012 were RMB693.8 million (US$111.4 million), representing 78.6% of net revenues, compared to 75.8% for the fourth quarter in 2011 and 70.4% in the previous quarter. The year-over-year increase in cost percentage was mainly due to cost inflation. Although our cost structure is largely fixed, the blended cost inflation in the fourth quarter of 2012 exceeded our same-hotel RevPAR growth of 2%. On top of that, a large number of 77 leased hotels opened in the third and fourth quarter of 2012 added to the hotel operating cost but contributed very low revenue during their early stage of ramping-up. The sequential increase in cost percentage was primarily due to seasonally-lower RevPAR affecting the percentage calculation.

For the full year of 2012, total hotel operating costs were RMB2,453.9 million (US$393.9 million), compared to RMB1,703.3 million (US$270.6 million) in 2011. Excluding share-based compensation, hotel operating costs (non-GAAP) were RMB2,451.3 million (US$393.5 million), representing 76.0% of net revenues, compared to 75.6% in 2011. The year-over-year increase of 0.4 percentage point in cost percentage was mainly driven by cost inflation.

Selling and marketing expenses for the fourth quarter of 2012 were RMB29.0 million (US$4.6 million), compared to RMB29.3 million (US$4.7 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011 and RMB24.3 million (US$3.9 million) in the previous quarter. Selling and marketing expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses (non-GAAP) for the fourth quarter of 2012 were RMB28.8 million (US$4.6 million), or 3.3% of net revenues, compared to 4.5% for the fourth quarter in 2011 and 2.7% for the previous quarter. The year-over-year decrease was mainly attributable to the benefit from economies of scale and the Company's cost-saving efforts. The sequential increase in percentage resulted from an increase in marketing programs during the low season.

For the full year of 2012, total selling and marketing expenses were RMB102.8 million (US$16.5 million), compared to RMB94.8 million (US$15.1 million) in 2011. Selling and marketing expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses (non-GAAP) were RMB101.8 million (US$16.3 million), representing 3.2% of net revenues, compared to 4.2% in 2011, mainly due to the benefit from economies of scale and the Company's cost-saving efforts.

General and administrative expenses for the fourth quarter of 2012 were RMB61.0 million (US$9.8 million), compared to RMB43.8 million (US$7.0 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011 and RMB55.7 million (US$8.9 million) in the previous quarter. General and administrative expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses (non-GAAP) for the fourth quarter of 2012 were RMB56.4 million (US$9.1 million), representing 6.4% of net revenues, compared with 6.4% of net revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 5.5% in the previous quarter.

General and administrative expenses were RMB217.4 million (US$34.9 million) for the year of 2012, compared to RMB160.1 million (US$25.4 million) in 2011. General and administrative expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses were RMB200.2 million (US$32.1 million), representing 6.2% of net revenues, compared to 6.5% in 2011, mainly due to the benefit from economies of scale.

Pre-opening expenses for the fourth quarter of 2012 were RMB69.8 million (US$11.2 million), compared to RMB49.5 million (US$7.9 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011 and RMB63.2 million (US$10.1 million) in the previous quarter. The pre-opening expenses were primarily driven by the number of leased hotels under conversion during the period. 50 leased hotels were opened during this quarter and another 80 were in the pipeline at the end of the quarter.

Pre-opening expenses for the full year of 2012 were RMB230.7 million (US$37.0 million), compared to RMB184.3 million (US$29.3 million) in 2011, representing a year-over-year increase of 25.2%. The increase in pre-opening expenses was mainly a result of our acceleration of leased hotel openings from 101 in 2011 to 121 in 2012. Our mid-scale brand, JI Hotel, had higher pre-opening expenses per hotel than our Hanting Hotel brand, due to higher rent for the underlying property and larger room count. The growth in JI Hotel openings and the strong JI Hotel pipeline also contributed to the increase of pre-opening expenses in 2012.

Income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2012 was RMB29.3 million (US$4.7 million), compared to RMB34.4 million (US$5.5 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011 and RMB120.3 million (US$19.1 million) in the previous quarter. Excluding share-based compensation expenses, adjusted income from operations (non-GAAP) for the fourth quarter of 2012 was RMB34.4 million (US$5.5 million), compared to RMB37.2 million (US$5.9 million) for the fourth quarter of 2011. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to cost inflation and higher pre-opening expenses.

Income from operations for the year was RMB219.7 million (US$35.3 million), more than doubling RMB107.1 million (US$17.0 million) in 2011. Excluding share-based compensation expenses, adjusted income from operations (non-GAAP) for the year of 2012 was RMB240.6 million (US$38.6 million), compared to RMB122.6 million (US$19.5 million) for the year of 2011. The significant growth in income from operations was attributable to rapid expansion of our hotel network, strong same-hotel RevPAR growth and benefit from economies of scale.

Net income attributable to China Lodging Group, Limited for the fourth quarter of 2012 was RMB18.2 million (US$2.9 million), compared to RMB30.3 million (US$4.8 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011 and RMB95.8 million (US$15.2 million) in the previous quarter. Excluding share-based compensation expenses, adjusted net income attributable to China Lodging Group, Limited (non-GAAP) for the fourth quarter of 2012 was RMB23.3 million (US$3.7 million), compared to RMB33.2 million (US$5.3 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011 and RMB103.6 million (US$16.5 million) in the previous quarter. The year-over-year decrease in net income was mainly due to lower income from operations and interest income, offset by foreign exchange gain. The sequential decrease in net income was mainly due to seasonality.

Net income attributable to China Lodging Group, Limited for the full year of 2012 was RMB174.9 million (US$28.1 million), compared to RMB114.8 million (US$18.2 million) in 2011. Excluding share-based compensation expenses, adjusted net income attributable to China Lodging Group (non-GAAP) for the full year of 2012 was RMB195.7 million (US$31.4 million), compared to RMB130.3 million (US$20.7 million) in 2011. The year-over-year increase was mainly attributable to a higher profit from the expanded base of manachised hotels and mature leased hotels.

Basic and diluted net earnings per share/ADS. For the fourth quarter of 2012, basic net earnings per share and diluted net earnings per share were RMB0.07 (US$0.01); basic net earnings per ADS were RMB0.30 (US$0.05) and diluted net earnings per ADS were RMB0.29 (US$0.05). For the fourth quarter of 2012, excluding share-based compensation expenses, adjusted basic net earnings per share (non-GAAP) were RMB0.10 (US$0.02) and adjusted diluted net earnings per share (non-GAAP) were RMB0.09 (US$0.02); adjusted basic net earnings per ADS (non-GAAP) and adjusted diluted net earnings per ADS (non-GAAP) were RMB0.38 (US$0.06).

For the full year of 2012, basic net earnings per share were RMB0.72 (US$0.12) and diluted net earnings per share were RMB0.71 (US$0.11); basic net earnings per ADS were RMB2.88 (US$0.46), while diluted net earnings per share were RMB2.83 (US$0.45). For the full year of 2012, excluding share-based compensation expenses, adjusted net earnings per share (non-GAAP) were RMB0.80 (US$0.13), while adjusted diluted net earnings per share (non-GAAP) were RMB0.79 (US$0.13), and adjusted net earnings per ADS (non-GAAP) were RMB3.22 (US$0.52), while adjusted diluted net earnings per ADS (non-GAAP) were RMB3.17 (US$0.51).

EBITDA (non-GAAP) for the fourth quarter of 2012 was RMB128.5 million (US$20.6 million), compared with RMB112.0 million (US$17.8 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011 and RMB213.3 million (US$33.9 million) in the previous quarter. Excluding pre-opening expenses and share-based compensation expenses, adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels (non-GAAP) for the fourth quarter of 2012 was RMB203.5 million (US$32.7 million), compared with RMB164.4 million (US$26.1 million) for the fourth quarter of 2011 and RMB284.3 million (US$45.2 million) for the previous quarter. The year-over-year increase was mainly due to the expansion of our hotel network. The sequential decrease was mainly due to seasonality.

EBITDA (non-GAAP) for the full year of 2012 was RMB577.5 million (US$92.7 million), compared to RMB377.4 million (US$60.0 million) in 2011. Excluding pre-opening expenses and share-based compensation expenses, adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels (non-GAAP) for the full year of 2012 was RMB829.0 million (US$133.1 million), compared with RMB577.2 million (US$91.7 million) in 2011. The increase in adjusted EBITDA was mainly driven by the expanded base of manachised hotels and mature leased hotels.

Hotel income (non-GAAP), which is the difference between net revenues and hotel operating costs, was RMB189.1 million (US$30.4 million) for the fourth quarter of 2012, compared with RMB156.9 million (US$24.9 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011 and RMB263.6 million (US$41.9 million) in the previous quarter. The year-over-year increase of hotel income (non-GAAP) was mainly attributable to the enlarged manachised hotel network and the increased number of mature leased hotels in our portfolio. For leased hotels in operation for at least six months, the hotel income (non-GAAP) was RMB131.4 million (US$21.1 million) during the fourth quarter of 2012, or 18% of net revenues derived from those hotels. Leased hotels in operation for less than six months accounted for 13% of leased room nights available for sale in the fourth quarter of 2012. Those hotels derived a hotel loss (non-GAAP) of RMB23.6 million (US$3.8 million), or 34% of net revenues derived from those hotels this quarter, mainly due to anticipated lower revenue achievement of those hotels during their ramp-up stage. For manachised and franchised hotels, the hotel income (non-GAAP) was RMB81.3 million (US$13.0 million), or 82% of net revenue derived from those hotels.

Hotel income (non-GAAP) for the full year of 2012 was RMB770.6 million (US$123.7 million), compared with RMB546.3 million (US$86.8 million) for 2011. The year-over-year increase was mainly due to higher hotel income generated from our expanded network of manachised hotels and mature leased hotels. For leased hotels in operation for at least six months, the hotel income (non-GAAP) was RMB577.1 million (US$92.6 million) during 2012, or 22% of net revenues derived from those hotels. Leased hotels in operation for less than six months derived a hotel loss (non-GAAP) of RMB72.2 million (US$11.6 million), or 28% of net revenues derived from those hotels in 2012. Losses generated from leased hotels in operation for less than six months increased from prior year, due to larger number of rooms added and higher per-hotel ramping-up loss primarily relating to development of mid-scale hotel brand and penetration into new cities. For manachised and franchised hotels, hotel income (non-GAAP) was RMB265.7 million (US$42.6 million), or 81% of net revenue derived from those hotels.

Cash flow. Net operating cash flow for the fourth quarter of 2012 was RMB191.4 million (US$30.7 million). Cash spent on the purchase of property and equipment, purchase of intangible assets and acquisitions, which are part of investing cash flow, was RMB266.2 million (US$42.7 million). 

Net operating cash flow for the full year of 2012 was RMB715.7 million (US$114.9 million). Cash spent on the purchase of property and equipment, purchase of intangible assets, long-term investment and acquisitions was RMB1,059.8 million (US$170.1 million).

Cash and cash equivalents, Restricted cash, and Short-term investment. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had a total balance of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investment of RMB459.7 million (US$73.8 million).

Business Outlookand Guidance for 2013

"We remain positive on the growing trend of travelling demand in China. Our brand portfolio is well-positioned to meet the diversified needs of customers who seek good value for their money. In 2013, we plan to add one Joya Hotel; 55 to 65 mid-scale hotels under JI Hotel and Starway Hotel brands; and 275 to 315 economy hotels under the Hanting Hotel and Hi Inn brands," commented Mr. Ji. The company expects all new hotels added to be under the leased or manachised models.

The Company expects to achieve net revenues in the range of RMB845 to 860 million in the first quarter of 2013, representing a 30% to 32% growth year-over-year. For the full year 2013, the Company expects net revenues to grow 26% to 29% from 2012.

The above forecast reflects the Company's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Conference Call

China Lodging Group's management will host a conference call at 8 p.m. EST, Wednesday, March 6, 2013 (or 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 7, 2013 in the Shanghai/Hong Kong time zone) following the announcement. To participate in the event by telephone, please dial +1 (855) 500 8701 (for callers in the US), +86 400 120 0654 (for callers in China Mainland), +852 3051 2745 (for callers in Hong Kong) or +65 6723 9385 (for callers outside of the US, China Mainland, and Hong Kong) and entering pass code 9824 7010. Please dial in approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled time of the call.

A recording of the conference call will be available after the conclusion of the conference call through March 13, 2013. Please dial +1 (855) 452 5696 (for callers in the US) or +61 2 8199 0299 (for callers outside the US) and entering pass code 9824 7010 if you wish to listen to this recording.

The conference call will also be webcast live over the Internet and can be accessed by all interested parties at the Company's website, http://ir.htinns.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the Company's unaudited consolidated financial results presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company uses the following non-GAAP measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the SEC: hotel operating costs excluding share-based compensation expenses; general and administrative expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses; selling expenses excluding share-based compensation expenses; adjusted income from operations excluding share-based compensation expenses; adjusted net income attributable to China Lodging Group, Limited excluding share-based compensation expenses; adjusted basic and diluted net earnings per share and per ADS excluding share-based compensation expenses; EBITDA; adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels excluding pre-opening expenses and share-based compensation expenses; and hotel income. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned "Reconciliations of GAAP and non-GAAP results" set forth at the end of this release. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding Company performance by excluding share-based compensation expenses that may not be indicative of Company operating performance. The Company believes that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing Company performance and when planning and forecasting future periods. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management's internal comparisons to the Company's historical performance. The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures are also useful to investors in allowing for greater transparency with respect to supplemental information used regularly by Company management in financial and operational decision-making. A limitation of using non-GAAP financial measures excluding share-based compensation expenses is that share-based compensation expenses have been — and will continue to be — a significant recurring expense in the Company's business. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP measure. The accompanying tables have more details on the reconciliations between GAAP financial measures that are most directly comparable to non-GAAP financial measures.

The Company believes that EBITDA is a useful financial metric to assess the operating and financial performance before the impact of investing and financing transactions and income taxes, given the significant investments that the Company has made in leasehold improvements, depreciation and amortization expense that comprise a significant portion of the Company's cost structure. In addition, the Company believes that EBITDA is widely used by other companies in the lodging industry and may be used by investors as a measure of financial performance. The Company believes that EBITDA will provide investors with a useful tool for comparability between periods because it eliminates depreciation and amortization expense attributable to capital expenditures. The Company also uses adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels, which is defined as EBITDA before pre-opening expenses and share-based compensation expenses, to assess operating results of the hotels in operation. The Company believes that the exclusion of pre-opening expenses and share-based compensation expenses, a portion of which is non-cash rental expenses, helps facilitate year-on-year comparison of the results of operations as the number of hotels in the development stage may vary significantly from year to year. Therefore, the Company believes adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels more closely reflects the performance capability of hotels currently in operation. The calculation of EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels does not deduct interest income. The presentation of EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels should not be construed as an indication that the Company's future results will be unaffected by other charges and gains considered to be outside the ordinary course ofbusiness.

The use of EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels has certain limitations. Depreciation and amortization expense for various long-term assets, income tax and interest expense have been and will be incurred and are not reflected in the presentation of EBITDA. Pre-opening expenses and share-based compensation expenses have been and will be incurred and are not reflected in the presentation of adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels. Each of these items should also be considered in the overall evaluation of the results. The Company compensates for these limitations by providing the relevant disclosure of the depreciation and amortization, interest expense, income tax expense, pre-opening expenses, share-based compensation expenses and other relevant items both in the reconciliations to the U.S. GAAP financial measures and in the consolidated financial statements, all of which should be considered when evaluating the performance of the Company.

The terms EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels are not defined under U.S. GAAP, and neither EBITDA nor adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels is a measure of net income, operating income, operating performance or liquidity presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. When assessing the operating and financial performance, investors should not consider these data in isolation or as a substitute for the Company's net income, operating income or any other operating performance measure that is calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, the Company's EBITDA or adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels may not be comparable to EBITDA or adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels — or similarly titled measures utilized by other companies — since such other companies may not calculate EBITDA or adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels in the same manner as the Company does.

To monitor performance of hotels at different maturity level and of different form, the Company also tracks hotel income, which is the difference between net revenues and hotel operating costs.

Reconciliations of the Company's non-GAAP financial measures, including EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA from operating hotels, and hotel income, to the consolidated statement of operations information are included at the end of this press release.

About China Lodging Group, Limited

China Lodging Group, Limited is a leading and fast-growing multi-brand hotel group in China. The Company provides business and leisure travelers with high-quality, and conveniently-located hotel products under five brands, namely, Joya Hotel, JI Hotel, Starway Hotel, HanTing Hotel, and Hi Inn. For more information, please visit the Company's website: http://ir.htinns.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, including statements regarding the Company's capital needs, business strategy and expectations. 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. Any or all of the Company's forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions, risks and uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual events or results to be materially different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. In evaluating these statements, readers should consider various factors, including the anticipated growth strategies of the Company, the future results of operations and financial condition of the Company, the economic conditions of China, the regulatory environment in China, the Company's ability to attract customers and leverage its brand, trends and competition in the lodging industry, the expected growth of the lodging market in China and other factors and risks outlined in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F and other filings. These factors may cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement. In addition, new factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for the Company to predict all factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Any projections in this release are based on limited information currently available to the Company, which is subject to change. This release also contains statements or projections that are based upon information available to the public, as well as other information from sources which the Company believes to be reliable, but it is not guaranteed by the Company to be accurate, nor does the Company purport it to be complete. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document, except as required by applicable law.

¹ Defined as EBITDA before pre-opening expenses and share-based compensation expenses.

² The conversion of Renminbi ("RMB") into United States dollars ("US$") is based on the exchange rate of US$1.00=RMB6.2301 on December 31, 2012 as set forth in H.10 statistical release of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and available at http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10/hist/dat00_ch.htm. 

³ Each ADS represents four of the Company's ordinary shares.

⁴ Calculated as the average of the number of leased hotels in operation at the beginning of the quarter and the number of leased hotels in operation at the end of the quarter. 

CONTACT: Ida Yu

         Investor Relations Manager

         Tel:  +86 (21) 6195 9561

         Email: ir@htinns.com

         http://ir.htinns.com