Hilton sales plunge in second quarter with travel frozen

     McLean (US), Aug 6 (AP) Hilton lost USD 432 million in the second quarter, but occupancy rates began to improve as coronavirus restrictions were lifted in portions of the country.
     Hilton announced layoffs of about 2,100 people, 22 per cent of its corporate workforce, in June, and it extended previously announced furloughs and corporate pay cuts for 90 days.
     The adjusted loss of 61 cents per share was far worse than the 31 cents projected on Wall Street, according to a survey of analysts by FactSet.
     Hilton's revenue plunged 77 per cent to USD 564 million in the April-June period.
     The hotel industry has been among the hardest hit by the new coronavirus. Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta has said that this was the first time in Hilton's 101-year history that a crisis brought global travel to a standstill.
     The McLean, Virginia, company said as of July 31, 96 per cent of its 6,100 hotels were open worldwide. (AP) IND

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)