Marriott Expects Drop in 4th-Quarter Profit

Marriott International Inc., whose World Trade Center hotel was destroyed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said it expects a sharp drop in fiscal fourth-quarter profit because of the travel crisis the attacks exacerbated.

Even before the attacks, business at the No. 1 U.S. hotel company and its rivals was slumping amid the economic slowdown.

Marriott said its profit in the third quarter ended Sept. 7 fell 8% to $101 million, or 39 cents a share, a penny better than analysts expected. Revenue edged up 2% to $2.35 billion.

Marriott said revenue per available room was down 10%, and warned that the drop could be much larger--between 25% and 35%--in the fourth quarter.

The company said fourth-quarter earnings could be about 20 cents to 30 cents a share, or about half analysts’ consensus estimate of 53 cents. It expects earnings for 2002 to be roughly unchanged from 2001.

Marriott shares fell $1.40 to close at $32.10 on the New York Stock Exchange.