Marriott Expects Slowdown to Continue

Marriott International Inc. reported a slight 3% rise in earnings for its second-quarter to $130 million, or 50 cents a share, and said it expects the current slowdown in business travel to depress results through the end of the year. The results were a penny higher than analysts expected.

Marriott lowered its full-year earnings estimate to a range of $1.98 to $2.03 a share, from its earlier expectations of $2.12. Wall Street was expecting $2.04, according to First Call/Thomson Financial.

Washington-based Marriott said its systemwide sales were flat at $4.8 billion in the latest quarter.

Marriott shares rose $2.01 to $47.77 on the NYSE.