RHP - Ryman Hospitality Properties Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (NYSE: RHP), a lodging real estate investment trust (“REIT”) specializing in group-oriented, destination hotel assets in urban and resort markets, today reported financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2023.

Fourth Quarter 2023 Highlights and Recent Developments:

• The Company generated net income of $169.9 million and net income available to common stockholders of $142.1 million or $2.37 per diluted share.
• Reported all-time quarterly record consolidated revenue of $633.1 million, led by quarterly records in both our same-store Hospitality segment (Hospitality segment excluding JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa (“JW Marriott Hill Country”)) and Entertainment segment.
• Same-store Hospitality segment achieved all-time quarterly record operating income of $110.7 million and Adjusted EBITDAre of $156.4 million.
• Entertainment segment achieved operating income of $20.6 million and Adjusted EBITDAre of $30.3 million.
• During the fourth quarter, the Company booked over 1.2 million same-store Gross Definite Room Nights for all future years, at a record average daily rate (ADR) of over $275, an increase of 8.5% over Q4 2022 ADR for future bookings.
• The Company declared a cash dividend of $1.10 per share for the first quarter of 2024.

Full Year 2023 Highlights:

• Reported consolidated revenue of $2.2 billion, an annual record for the Company.
• The Company reported a full year record in operating income of $453.7 million and reported full year record operating income margin of 21.0% for 2023.
• The Company reported record net income of $341.8 million and record Adjusted EBITDAre of $690.7 million.
• Same-store Gross Definite Room Nights Booked in full year 2023 of nearly 2.9 million room nights for all future years, represents a 9.6% increase over 2022.
• The Company declared total 2023 dividends of $3.85 per share; intends to pay aggregate minimum dividends for 2024 of $4.40 per share, subject to the Board’s future determinations.
  

Mark Fioravanti, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ryman Hospitality Properties, said, “We finished 2023 on a strong note, with numerous records achieved in the fourth quarter and for the full year across our Hospitality and Entertainment businesses. Lead volumes, bookings, and ADR all reached new highs, building on the strong group momentum we have created across our Hospitality business. Our operating results and forward group booking pace support the continued capital investments we are making across our portfolio.”

Fourth Quarter 2023 Results (as compared to Fourth Quarter 2022):

Note: For the Company’s definitions of Adjusted EBITDA re , Adjusted EBITDA re margin, Adjusted EBITDA re , excluding noncontrolling interest in consolidated joint venture, Adjusted EBITDA re , excluding noncontrolling interest in consolidated joint venture margin, FFO available to common stockholders and unit holders, and Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders and unit holders, as well as a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure Adjusted EBITDA re to Net Income and a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders and unit holders to Net Income, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures,” “EBITDA re , Adjusted EBITDA re and Adjusted EBITDA re , Excluding Noncontrolling Interest in Consolidated Joint Venture Definition,” “Adjusted EBITDA re , Excluding Noncontrolling Interest in Consolidated Joint Venture Margin Definition” “FFO, Adjusted FFO, and Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders and unit holders Definition” and “Supplemental Financial Results” below.

Hospitality Segment

Note: For the Company’s definitions of Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) and Total Revenue Per Available Room (Total RevPAR), see “Calculation of RevPAR, Total RevPAR, and Occupancy” below. Property-level results and operating metrics for fourth quarter 2023 are presented in greater detail below and under “Supplemental Financial Results—Hospitality Segment Adjusted EBITDA re Reconciliations and Operating Metrics,” which includes a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures Hospitality Adjusted EBITDA re to Hospitality Operating Income, and property-level Adjusted EBITDA re to property-level Operating Income for each of the hotel properties.

Hospitality Segment Highlights

• In the fourth quarter, same-store Hospitality portfolio achieved a record total RevPAR of $525, a 3.8% increase over Q4 2022, driven by record ADR of nearly $260, an increase of 2.0% from Q4 2022.
• In the fourth quarter, Gaylord Opryland set an all-time portfolio total revenue record and Gaylord Texan set an all-time portfolio total RevPAR record for any quarter.
• ICE! programming generated strong results, with over 1.2 million tickets sold.
• Projected room revenues from bookings production for all future years set a fourth quarter and full year record for the same-store portfolio.
• On a same-store basis, cancellations in the year for the year for 2023 decreased by 67% compared to 2022, and attrition and cancellation fee collections for 2023 declined to $42.7 million from $57.3 million in 2022.
• Same-store incentive management fee expense increased to $8.3 million in the quarter and $29.1 million for the year, up from $6.2 million in Q4 2022 and $12.8 million in full year 2022.

Entertainment Segment

For the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, and 2022, the Company reported the following:

Fioravanti continued, “Our Entertainment segment delivered another record performance in 2023. Ole Red Las Vegas opened its doors in mid-January 2024 to strong demand, and we are enthusiastic about the potential of this asset in the Las Vegas market. We were also pleased to unveil, as part of our January 2024 Investor Day, the reimagination of the Wildhorse Saloon as Category 10 in collaboration with country music superstar, Luke Combs. We have already started construction on this multi-use venue and anticipate a phased reopening beginning in the third quarter of 2024.”

Corporate and Other Segment

For the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2023, and 2022, the Company reported the following:

Fioravanti concluded, “We enter 2024 with considerable momentum and strength across both our Hospitality and Entertainment segments. As we recently outlined at our January 2024 Investor Day, over the past 20 years our management team has built valuable long-standing relationships with our group customers and an industry-leading portfolio of hotels and iconic entertainment brands. The value proposition we have created, and continue to enhance, garners strong demand and pricing power, as evidenced in our forward book of group hotel business. Furthermore, we believe the high-return investments we are pursuing across our Hospitality and Entertainment assets will create value for our stakeholders in the years to come.”

2024 Guidance

The Company is reiterating its 2024 business performance outlook based on current information as of February 22, 2024. The Company does not expect to update the guidance provided before next quarter’s earnings release. However, the Company may update its full business outlook or any portion thereof at any time for any reason.

Current full year 2024 guidance is inclusive of the following assumptions:

• Disruption from planned capital investments is estimated to result in a negative impact of approximately 215 basis points to same-store Hospitality RevPAR growth and approximately 160 basis points to same-store Hospitality Total RevPAR growth. In addition, the Company expects disruption to result in a negative impact of approximately $18 million to $21 million to Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA re , including $10 million to $11 million to same-store Hospitality Adjusted EBITDA re and $8 million to $10 million to Entertainment Adjusted EBITDA re .
• Capital expenditures are estimated to be $360 million to $440 million.

Note: For reconciliations of Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA re guidance to Net Income, segment-level Adjusted EBITDA re to segment-level Operating Income, property-level Adjusted EBITDA re for JW Marriott Hill Country to property-level Operating Income, and FFO and Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders and unitholders to Net Income , see “Reconciliation of Forward-Looking Statements” below.

Dividend Update
On January 16, 2024, the Company paid the previously announced quarterly cash dividend of $1.10 per common share, which was paid to stockholders of record as of December 29, 2023.

Today, the Company declared its first quarter 2024 cash dividend of $1.10 per share of common stock, payable on April 15, 2024, to stockholders of record as of March 29, 2024. The Company’s dividend policy provides that it will distribute minimum dividends of 100% of REIT taxable income annually. It is the Company’s current plan to distribute aggregate minimum dividends for 2024 of $4.40 per share in cash. Future dividends are subject to the Board’s future determinations as to amount and timing.

Balance Sheet/Liquidity Update
As of December 31, 2023, the Company had total debt outstanding of $3,377.0 million, net of unamortized deferred financing costs, and unrestricted cash of $591.8 million. As of December 31, 2023, there were no amounts drawn under the Company’s revolving credit facility, $5.0 million was drawn under OEG’s revolving credit facility, and the lending banks had issued $14.6 million in letters of credit under the Company’s revolving credit facility, which left $745.4 million of aggregate borrowing availability for borrowing under the Company’s revolving credit facility and OEG’s revolving credit facility.

Earnings Call Information
Ryman Hospitality Properties will hold a conference call to discuss this release tomorrow, February 23, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. ET. Investors can listen to the conference call over the Internet at www.rymanhp.com. To listen to the live call, please go to the Investor Relations section of the website (Investor Relations/Presentations, Earnings and Webcasts) at least 15 minutes prior to the call to register and download any necessary audio software. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the call and will be available for at least 30 days.

About Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc.
Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (NYSE: RHP) is a leading lodging and hospitality real estate investment trust that specializes in upscale convention center resorts and entertainment experiences. The Company’s holdings include Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center; Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center; Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center; Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center; and Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, five of the top seven largest non-gaming convention center hotels in the United States based on total indoor meeting space. The Company also owns the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa as well as two ancillary hotels adjacent to our Gaylord Hotels properties. The Company’s hotel portfolio is managed by Marriott International and includes a combined total of 11,414 rooms as well as more than 3 million square feet of total indoor and outdoor meeting space in top convention and leisure destinations across the country. RHP also owns a 70% controlling ownership interest in Opry Entertainment Group (OEG), which is composed of entities owning a growing collection of iconic and emerging country music brands, including the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, WSM 650 AM, Ole Red, Nashville-area attractions, and Block 21, a mixed-use entertainment, lodging, office and retail complex, including the W Austin Hotel and the ACL Live at the Moody Theater, located in downtown Austin, Texas. RHP operates OEG as its Entertainment segment in a taxable REIT subsidiary, and its results are consolidated in the Company’s financial results.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements as to the Company’s beliefs and expectations of the outcome of future events that are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the future performance of the Company’s business, anticipated business levels and anticipated financial results for the Company during future periods, the Company’s expected cash dividend, and other business or operational issues. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These include the risks and uncertainties associated with economic conditions affecting the hospitality business generally, the geographic concentration of the Company’s hotel properties, business levels at the Company’s hotels, the effects of inflation on the Company’s business, including the effects on costs of labor and supplies and effects on group customers at the Company’s hotels and customers in OEG’s businesses, the Company’s ability to remain qualified as a REIT, the Company’s ability to execute our strategic goals as a REIT, the Company’s ability to generate cash flows to support dividends, future board determinations regarding the timing and amount of dividends and changes to the dividend policy, the Company’s ability to borrow funds pursuant to its credit agreements and to refinance indebtedness and/or to successfully amend the agreements governing its indebtedness in the future, changes in interest rates, the Company’s integration of the JW Marriott Hill Country, the Company’s ability to identify and capitalize on additional value creation opportunities at the JW Marriott Hill Country or other assets and the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could limit the Company’s ability to capitalize on any additional value creation opportunities it identifies at the JW Marriott Hill Country or other assets. Other factors that could cause operating and financial results to differ are described in the filings made from time to time by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and include the risk factors and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and subsequent filings. The Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements made by it to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Additional Information
This release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. Copies of our reports are available on our website at no expense at www.rymanhp.com and through the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”) at www.sec.gov.

Calculation of RevPAR and Total RevPAR
We calculate revenue per available room (“RevPAR”) for our hotels by dividing room revenue by room nights available to guests for the period. We calculate total revenue per available room (“Total RevPAR”) for our hotels by dividing the sum of room revenue, food & beverage, and other ancillary services revenue by room nights available to guests for the period. Hospitality metrics do not include the results of the W Austin, which is included in the Entertainment segment.

Calculation of GAAP Margin Figures
We calculate Net Income available to common stockholders’ margin by dividing GAAP consolidated Net Income available to common stockholders by GAAP consolidated Total Revenue. We calculate consolidated, segment or property-level Operating Income Margin by dividing consolidated, segment or property-level GAAP Operating Income by consolidated, segment or property-level GAAP Revenue.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We present the following non-GAAP financial measures we believe are useful to investors as key measures of our operating performance:

EBITDAre , Adjusted EBITDAre and Adjusted EBITDAre , Excluding Noncontrolling Interest in Consolidated Joint Venture Definition
We calculate EBITDA re, which is defined by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”) in its September 2017 white paper as Net Income (calculated in accordance with GAAP) plus interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization, gains or losses on the disposition of depreciated property (including gains or losses on change in control), impairment write-downs of depreciated property and of investments in unconsolidated affiliates caused by a decrease in the value of depreciated property of the affiliate, and adjustments to reflect the entity’s share of EBITDA re of unconsolidated affiliates.

Adjusted EBITDA re is then calculated as EBITDA re , plus to the extent the following adjustments occurred during the periods presented:

• preopening costs;
• non-cash lease expense;
• equity-based compensation expense;
• impairment charges that do not meet the NAREIT definition above;
• credit losses on held-to-maturity securities;
• transaction costs of acquisitions;
• interest income on bonds;
• loss on extinguishment of debt;
• pension settlement charges;
• pro rata Adjusted EBITDA re from unconsolidated joint ventures; and
• any other adjustments we have identified herein.
  

We then exclude the pro rata share of Adjusted EBITDA re related to noncontrolling interests in consolidated joint ventures to calculate Adjusted EBITDA re , Excluding Noncontrolling Interest in Consolidated Joint Venture.

We use EBITDA re , Adjusted EBITDA re and Adjusted EBITDA re , Excluding Noncontrolling Interest in Consolidated Joint Venture and segment or property-level EBITDA re and Adjusted EBITDA re to evaluate our operating performance. We believe that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors regarding our operating performance and debt leverage metrics, and that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures, when combined with the primary GAAP presentation of Net Income or Operating Income, as applicable, is beneficial to an investor’s complete understanding of our operating performance. We make additional adjustments to EBITDA re when evaluating our performance because we believe that presenting Adjusted EBITDA re and Adjusted EBITDA re , Excluding Noncontrolling Interest in Consolidated Joint Venture provides useful information to investors regarding our operating performance and debt leverage metrics.

Adjusted EBITDAre Margin and Adjusted EBITDAre, Excluding Noncontrolling Interest in Consolidated Joint Venture Margin Definition
We calculate consolidated Adjusted EBITDA re , Excluding Noncontrolling Interest in Consolidated Joint Venture Margin by dividing consolidated Adjusted EBITDA re , Excluding Noncontrolling Interest in Consolidated Joint Venture by GAAP consolidated Total Revenue. We calculate consolidated, segment or property-level Adjusted EBITDA re Margin by dividing consolidated, segment-, or property-level Adjusted EBITDA re by consolidated, segment-, or property-level GAAP Revenue. We believe Adjusted EBITDA re , Excluding Noncontrolling Interest in Consolidated Joint Venture Margin is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance because this non-GAAP financial measure helps investors evaluate and compare the results of our operations from period to period by presenting a ratio showing the quantitative relationship between Adjusted EBITDA re , Excluding Noncontrolling Interest in Consolidated Joint Venture and GAAP consolidated Total Revenue or segment or property-level GAAP Revenue, as applicable.

FFO, Adjusted FFO, and Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders and unit holders Definition
We calculate FFO, which definition is clarified by NAREIT in its December 2018 white paper as Net Income (calculated in accordance with GAAP) excluding depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs and debt discounts), gains and losses from the sale of certain real estate assets, gains and losses from a change in control, impairment write-downs of certain real estate assets and investments in entities when the impairment is directly attributable to decreases in the value of depreciated real estate held by the entity, income (loss) from consolidated joint ventures attributable to noncontrolling interest, and pro rata adjustments for unconsolidated joint ventures.
To calculate Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders and unit holders, we then exclude, to the extent the following adjustments occurred during the periods presented:

• right-of-use asset amortization;
• impairment charges that do not meet the NAREIT definition above;
• write-offs of deferred financing costs;
• amortization of debt discounts or premiums and amortization of deferred financing costs;
• loss on extinguishment of debt;
• non-cash lease expense;
• credit loss on held-to-maturity securities;
• pension settlement charges;
• additional pro rata adjustments from unconsolidated joint ventures;
• (gains) losses on other assets;
• transaction costs on acquisitions;
• deferred income tax expense (benefit); and
• any other adjustments we have identified herein.
  

To calculate Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders and unit holders (excluding maintenance capex), we then exclude FF&E reserve contributions for managed properties and maintenance capital expenditures for non-managed properties. FFO available to common stockholders and unit holders, Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders and unit holders and Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders and unit holders (excluding maintenance capex) exclude the ownership portion of joint ventures not controlled or owned by the Company.

We present Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders and unit holders per diluted share as a non-GAAP measure of our performance in addition to our net income available to common stockholders per diluted share (calculated in accordance with GAAP). We calculate Adjusted FFO available to common stockholders and unit holders per diluted share as our Adjusted FFO (defined as set forth above) for a given operating period, as adjusted for the effect of dilutive securities, divided by the number of diluted shares and units outstanding during such period.

We believe that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors regarding the performance of our ongoing operations because each presents a measure of our operations without regard to specified non-cash items such as real estate depreciation and amortization, gain or loss on sale of assets and certain other items, which we believe are not indicative of the performance of our underlying hotel properties. We believe that these items are more representative of our asset base than our ongoing operations. We also use these non-GAAP financial measures as measures in determining our results after considering the impact of our capital structure.

We caution investors that non-GAAP financial measures we present may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies, because not all companies calculate these non-GAAP measures in the same manner. The non-GAAP financial measures we present, and any related per share measures, should not be considered as alternative measures of our Net Income, operating performance, cash flow or liquidity. These non-GAAP financial measures may include funds that may not be available for our discretionary use due to functional requirements to conserve funds for capital expenditures and property acquisitions and other commitments and uncertainties. Although we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures can enhance an investor’s understanding of our results of operations, these non-GAAP financial measures, when viewed individually, are not necessarily better indicators of any trend as compared to GAAP measures such as Net Income (Loss), Operating Income (Loss), or cash flow from operations.