Braemar Hotels & Resorts Reports Second Quarter 2020 Results

DALLAS–Braemar Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE: BHR) (“Braemar” or the “Company”) today reported financial results and performance measures for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020.  The comparable performance measurements for Occupancy, Average Daily Rate (ADR), Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR), and Hotel EBITDA assume each of the hotel properties in the Company’s hotel portfolio as of June 30, 2020 was owned as of the beginning of each of the periods presented.  Unless otherwise stated, all reported results compare the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 with the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 (see discussion below).  The reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures is included in the financial tables accompanying this press release.

COVID-19 UPDATE

In response to the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry, the Company is deploying numerous strategies and protocols to protect the health and safety of its employees, guests, partners, and communities where it operates.  Additionally, the Company has taken steps to ensure that it has additional financial flexibility going forward to navigate this crisis, including:

• During the quarter, the Company closed on an amendment to its corporate credit facility. With a paydown of $10 million, the amendment converted the $75 million corporate credit facility into a $65 million term loan with the same maturity date of October 25, 2022. The amendment also provides a waiver on the majority of the covenants through the first quarter of 2021.
• The Company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $103 million and restricted cash of $41 million.  The vast majority of the restricted cash is comprised of lender and manager held reserves.  The Company is currently working with its property managers and lenders in order to utilize lender and manager held reserves to fund operating shortfalls.  At the end of the quarter, there was also $9 million in due from third-party hotel managers, which is the Company’s cash held by one of its property managers and is also available to fund hotel operating costs.
• During the quarter, the Company announced that it has signed forbearance agreements on five loans including its mortgage loans on the Hotel Yountville, Bardessono Hotel, Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe, Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, and Pier House Resort. The forbearance agreements allow the Company to defer interest on the loans for an initial period of three months and up to six months subject to certain conditions. The forbearance agreements also allow the Company to utilize lender and manager held reserve accounts, which are included in restricted cash on the Company’s balance sheet, in order to fund operating shortfalls at the hotels.  The Company also entered into an FF&E use agreement on its 4-hotel portfolio loan.  The Company expects to have a forbearance agreement completed soon on the loan secured by the Capital Hilton and Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines and currently expects to keep its remaining loans current and out of default.
• The Company estimates that its current monthly cash utilization at its hotels given their current state of either having suspended operations or operating in a limited capacity is approximately $5 million per month.
• Currently, operations at two of the Company’s properties remain temporarily suspended. The Company’s remaining 11 properties are open and operating.

The negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on economic activity and the hospitality industry continues to evolve. The crisis is expected to continue to impact the Company’s financial results during the third quarter of 2020 and beyond.

FINANCIAL AND OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

• Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the quarter was $46.3 million or $1.41 per diluted share.
• Comparable RevPAR for all hotels decreased 91.8% to $19.22 during the quarter.

• Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) was negative $0.58 per diluted share for the quarter.
• Adjusted EBITDAre was negative $18.5 million for the quarter.
• Capex invested during the quarter was $4.8 million.

UPDATE ON BUSINESS INTERRUPTION INCOME

During the quarter, the Company recognized approximately $390,000 of business interruption (“BI”) income for the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas related to lost profits for the period of March through May 2020 due to the impact of Hurricane Irma.

CAPITAL STRUCTURE

At June 30, 2020, the Company had total assets of $1.7 billion and $1.1 billion of mortgage loans of which $49 million related to its joint venture partner’s share of the mortgage loan on the Capital Hilton and Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines.  The Company’s total combined mortgage loans had a blended average interest rate of 2.6%.

During the quarter, the Company converted its corporate credit facility into a term loan agreement. At the end of the quarter, the term loan had an outstanding principal balance of $65 million.

In light of the economic uncertainty arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and to protect liquidity, the Company and its Board of Directors announced a suspension of its previously announced 2020 common stock dividend policy.  Accordingly, the Company did not pay a dividend on its common stock or common units for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020. The Board of Directors will continue to monitor the situation and assess future quarterly common dividend declarations.

PORTFOLIO REVPAR

As of June 30, 2020, the portfolio consisted of thirteen hotels.

• Comparable RevPAR decreased 91.8% to $19.22 for all hotels on a 2.9% decrease in ADR and a 91.5% decrease in occupancy.

HOTEL EBITDA MARGINS AND QUARTERLY SEASONALITY TRENDS

The Company believes year-over-year Comparable Hotel EBITDA and Comparable Hotel EBITDA Margin comparisons are more meaningful to gauge the performance of the Company’s hotels than sequential quarter-over-quarter comparisons. To help investors better understand the substantial seasonality in the Company’s portfolio, the Company provides quarterly detail on its Comparable Hotel EBITDA and Comparable Hotel EBITDA Margin for the current and certain prior-year periods based upon the number of hotels in the Company’s portfolio as of the end of the current period.  As the Company’s portfolio mix changes from time to time so will the seasonality for Comparable Hotel EBITDA and Comparable Hotel EBITDA Margin.

“While the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has generated significant challenges to the hospitality industry, we are happy to report that all but two of our hotels have resumed operations,” said Richard J. Stockton, Braemar’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We have a high-quality, well-positioned portfolio that is benefitting from increased demand for drive-to leisure resorts.  I am proud of our efforts to protect our hotels and ensure the safety of our associates and guests, while maintaining financial flexibility to position ourselves for future success. We are also pleased with the progress we have made on our forbearance agreements and the completion of our credit facility amendment.  We will continue to focus on ways to maximize value for our shareholders as we navigate these uncertain times.”