Wyndham Worldwide Profit Down 56%

　　Although Wyndham Hotels Group saw a 24% year-on-year increase in revenue to US$185 million in the first quarter of 2012, its parent company’s profit declined.

　　Wyndham Worldwide Corp., Parsippany, New Jersey, saw profit decline 56% in the first quarter with net income at US$32 million compared with US$72 million for the first quarter of 2011. The net income was brought down by Wyndham dedicating US$106 million to extinguishing debt early.

　　“Consumers are traveling. Our vacation ownership and hotel businesses are showing great momentum and our exchange and rentals business proved resilient despite the difficult economic climate in Europe. As always, we will continue to focus on driving operational improvements in 2012 and beyond,” said Stephen Holmes, Wyndham Worldwide chairman and CEO.

　　Looking ahead, the Wyndham increased its earnings per share forecast for 2012 from US$2.85-US$3 to US$3.15-US$3. Meanwhile its stock repurchasing drive continues: during the first quarter, Wyndham repurchased 3.6 million shares of its common stock for US$150 million at an average price of US$42.05 and it announced that its board of directors approved a US$750 million increase to the share repurchase authorization.