SUNSTONE HOTEL INVESTORS REPORTS RESULTS FOR FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2023

Returned Nearly $120 Million to Common Stockholders in 2023 Through Dividends and Share Repurchases

ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Feb. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (the “Company” or “Sunstone”) (NYSE:SHO) today announced results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2023.

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

Net Income: Net income was $127.0 million as compared to $17.5 million. Excluding the gain on the hotel sold during the quarter, fourth quarter 2023 net income would have been $3.2 million.
Comparable RevPAR: Comparable RevPAR decreased 2.2% to $206.58. The average daily rate was $318.80 and occupancy was 64.8%. RevPAR at the Company’s urban and convention hotels increased 3.5%.
Adjusted EBITDAre: Adjusted EBITDAre, excluding noncontrolling interest decreased 20.5% to $54.6 million.
Adjusted FFO: Adjusted FFO attributable to common stockholders per diluted share decreased 26.9% to $0.19.

Full Year 2023 Operational Results (as compared to Full Year 2022):

Net Income: Net income was $206.7 million as compared to $90.8 million. Excluding the gain on the one hotel sold during 2023 and the three hotels sold in 2022, net income in 2023 would have been $82.9 million as compared to $67.8 million in 2022.
Comparable RevPAR: Comparable RevPAR increased 5.6% to $226.56. The average daily rate was $324.58 and occupancy was 69.8%. RevPAR at the Company’s urban and convention hotels increased 15.6%.
Adjusted EBITDAre: Adjusted EBITDAre, excluding noncontrolling interest increased 12.7% to $263.4 million.
Adjusted FFO: Adjusted FFO attributable to common stockholders per diluted share increased 9.2% to $0.95.

Information regarding the non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this release is provided below in “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.” Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measure for each of the periods presented are included later in this release.

Bryan A. Giglia, Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are pleased with our fourth quarter performance as RevPAR growth, EBITDA and FFO all exceeded the high-end of our guidance ranges. Our convention and urban hotels once again led the portfolio, generating an impressive 16% RevPAR growth for the year driven by continued strength in group and business transient demand.”

Mr. Giglia continued, “During 2023, we successfully executed our strategy of recycling capital, investing in our portfolio, and returning capital to shareholders. Consistent with our investment lifecycle approach, we sold Boston Park Plaza at a strong valuation and are working to recycle those proceeds into new opportunities that we expect will drive long-term accretion in NAV per share. Additionally, we are creating future growth by investing in our portfolio, benefiting from the recently completed conversion of The Westin Washington, DC Downtown, and paving the way for the next layer of growth with the repositioning of the Andaz Miami Beach and Marriott Long Beach Downtown. Our strong earnings growth and ample liquidity allowed us to increase our dividend and repurchase our common stock at a discount to NAV, returning nearly $120 million to shareholders during the year. We believe that our active capital recycling, investment in our portfolio to drive future growth, and meaningful return of capital will position Sunstone for further success in 2024.”

Unaudited Selected Statistical and Financial Data ($ in millions, except RevPAR, ADR and per share amounts)

The Company’s actual results for the quarter ended December 31, 2023 compare to its guidance previously provided as follows:

2023 Highlights

New Unsecured Term Loan and Hilton San Diego Bayfront Mortgage Repayment: In the second quarter 2023, the Company entered into a new $225.0 million term loan agreement and used substantially all of the proceeds to repay the $220.0 million loan secured by the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. The $225.0 million term loan has an initial term of two years with one 12-month extension, which would result in an extended maturity of May 2026. Following the repayment of the loan secured by the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, all but one of the Company’s 14 hotels are unencumbered, and the Company has no debt maturities until December 2024.

Boston Park Plaza Disposition: In the fourth quarter 2023, the Company sold the 1,060-room Boston Park Plaza for a contractual gross sale price of $370.0 million, or approximately $350,000 per key, and recorded a gain on the sale of $123.8 million. The Company acquired the hotel in 2013 and successfully executed a business plan to reinvigorate the well-located historic hotel, which resulted in substantial earnings growth over the Company’s ownership period. The Company is evaluating opportunities to redeploy a portion of the proceeds from the sale into new acquisition opportunities that meet its reinvestment criteria.

The Westin Washington, DC Downtown: In the fourth quarter 2023, the Company converted its Renaissance Washington DC to The Westin Washington, DC Downtown, following a comprehensive renovation. The repositioned hotel is expected to attract additional occupancy and garner higher rates which will increase the earnings potential and value of the hotel.

Andaz Miami Beach Conversion: In the fourth quarter 2023, the Company began the transformation of The Confidante Miami Beach to Andaz Miami Beach. The renovation will encompass all aspects of the property and will meaningfully enhance the earnings potential of the asset. The Company expects to debut the renovated hotel in the fourth quarter of 2024 and to achieve an 8% to 9% net operating income yield on the total investment in the asset upon stabilization.

Marriott Long Beach Downtown Conversion: In the fourth quarter 2023, the Company began the conversion of the Renaissance Long Beach to the Marriott Long Beach Downtown. The renovation and conversion is expected to be substantially completed during the first quarter 2024, and the hotel should realize the benefits of the investment for the remainder of 2024.

Stock Repurchase Program. During 2023, the Company repurchased 5,971,192 shares of its common stock at an average purchase price of $9.43 per share for a total repurchase amount before expenses of $56.3 million. The average purchase price per share represents a substantial discount to consensus estimates of net asset value and implies a highly attractive valuation multiple on the Company’s stabilized cash flow. The Company currently has $454.7 million remaining under its existing stock repurchase program authorization.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity Update

As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $493.7 million of cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash of $67.3 million, total assets of $3.1 billion, including $2.6 billion of net investments in hotel properties, total debt of $819.1 million and stockholders’ equity of $2.2 billion.

Operations Update 

January 2024 and 2023 results included the following ($ in millions, except RevPAR and ADR):

Capital Investments Update

The Company invested $36.2 million and $110.1 million into its portfolio during the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2023, respectively. The majority of the 2023 investment consisted of the conversion of the Renaissance Washington DC to The Westin Washington, DC Downtown, as well as preliminary work on the conversions of The Confidante Miami Beach to Andaz Miami Beach and Renaissance Long Beach to Marriott Long Beach Downtown. The Company’s total capital investment in 2023 was approximately $30 million lower than the midpoint of its estimated range at the start of the year as certain capital expenditures primarily related to the conversion of Andaz Miami Beach will now be incurred in 2024. The Company currently expects to invest approximately $135 million to $155 million into its portfolio in 2024, with the majority of the investment relating to the conversions of Andaz Miami Beach and the Marriott Long Beach Downtown and a soft goods renovation at Wailea Beach Resort. The Company anticipates that it will incur approximately $11 million to $13 million of EBITDAre displacement in 2024 in connection with its planned capital investments, which is approximately $1 million lower than the EBITDAre displacement incurred in 2023.

2024 Outlook

For the full year 2024, the Company expects:

Full year 2024 guidance is based in part on the following full year assumptions:

Full year total Adjusted EBITDAre displacement of approximately $11 million to $13 million in connection with planned capital investments, slightly less than in 2023.
Full year corporate overhead expense (excluding deferred stock amortization) of approximately $21 million to $22 million.
Full year interest expense of approximately $52 million to $55 million, including approximately $3 million in amortization of deferred financing costs.
Full year preferred stock dividends of approximately $15 million to $16 million, which includes the Series G, H and I cumulative redeemable preferred stock.
The Confidante Miami Beach is expected to suspend operations late in the first quarter of 2024 to allow for extensive renovation work to be performed. The resort is expected to reopen as Andaz Miami Beach in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the Company currently anticipates that the resort will generate an EBITDAre loss of approximately $3 million to $5 million, excluding pre-opening and certain capitalized costs, in 2024 as the comprehensive transformation is completed.

Recent Developments

Corporate Responsibility Report. In January 2024, the Company published its 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report. The report includes details on Sunstone’s environmental sustainability, social responsibility and governance (“ESG”) progress during 2022, as well as certain additional initiatives commenced in 2023. A copy of the report can be found on the Corporate Responsibility page of the Company’s website at www.sunstonehotels.com.

Dividend Update 

On February 22, 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.07 per share of its common stock. The Company’s Board of Directors also declared cash dividends of $0.382813 per share payable to its Series H cumulative redeemable preferred stockholders and $0.356250 per share payable to its Series I cumulative redeemable preferred stockholders. The dividends will be paid on April 15, 2024 to stockholders of record as of March 28, 2024.

The Company currently expects to continue to pay a quarterly cash common dividend throughout 2024. Consistent with the Company’s past practice, and to the extent that the expected regular quarterly dividends for 2024 do not satisfy its annual distribution requirements, the Company may pay an additional dividend amount in January 2025. The level of any future quarterly dividends will be determined by the Company’s board of directors after considering long-term operating projections, expected capital requirements and risks affecting the Company’s business.

Supplemental Disclosures

Contemporaneous with this release, the Company has furnished a Form 8-K with unaudited financial information. This additional information is being provided as a supplement to the information in this release and other filings with the SEC. The Company has no obligation to update any of the information provided to conform to actual results or changes in the Company’s portfolio, capital structure or future expectations.

Earnings Call

The Company will host a conference call to discuss fourth quarter and full year financial results on February 23, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (10:00 a.m. Pacific Time). A live webcast of the call will be available via the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.sunstonehotels.com. Alternatively, interested parties may dial 1-888-330-3573 and reference conference ID 4831656 to listen to the live call. A replay of the webcast will also be archived on the website.

About Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. is a lodging real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that as of the date of this release owns 14 hotels comprised of 6,675 rooms, the majority of which are operated under nationally recognized brands. Sunstone’s strategy is to create long-term stakeholder value through the acquisition, active ownership, and disposition of well-located hotel and resort real estate. For further information, please visit Sunstone’s website at www.sunstonehotels.com. The Company’s website is provided as a reference only and any information on the website is not incorporated by reference in this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws and regulations. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will” and other similar terms and phrases, including opinions, references to assumptions and forecasts of future results. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks include, but are not limited to: we own upper upscale and luxury hotels located in urban and resort destinations in an industry that is highly competitive; events beyond our control, including economic slowdowns or recessions, pandemics, natural disasters, civil unrest and terrorism; inflation increasing costs such as wages, employee-related benefits, food costs, commodity costs, including those used to renovate or reposition our hotels, property taxes, property and liability insurance, utilities and borrowing costs; system security risks, data protection breaches, cyber-attacks and systems integration issues, including those impacting the Company’s suppliers, hotel managers or franchisors; a significant portion of our hotels are geographically concentrated so we may be harmed by economic downturns or natural disasters in these areas of the country; we face possible risks associated with the physical and transitional effects of climate change; uninsured or underinsured losses could harm our financial condition; the operating results of some of our hotels are significantly reliant upon group and transient business generated by large corporate customers, and the loss of such customers for any reason could harm our operating results; the increased use of virtual meetings and other similar technologies could lessen the need for business-related travel, and, therefore, demand for rooms in our hotels may be adversely affected; our hotels require ongoing capital investment and we may incur significant capital expenditures in connection with acquisitions, repositionings and other improvements, some of which are mandated by applicable laws or regulations or agreements with third parties, and the costs of such renovations, repositionings or improvements may exceed our expectations or cause other problems; delays in the acquisition, renovation or repositioning of hotel properties may have adverse effects on our results of operations and returns to our stockholders; accounting for the acquisition of a hotel property or other entity involves assumptions and estimations to determine fair value that could differ materially from the actual results achieved in future periods; volatility in the debt and equity markets may adversely affect our ability to acquire, renovate, refinance or sell our hotels; we may pursue joint venture investments that could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on a co-venturer’s financial condition and disputes between us and our co-venturer; we may be subject to unknown or contingent liabilities related to recently sold or acquired hotels, as well as hotels we may sell or acquire in the future; we may seek to acquire a portfolio of hotels or a company, which could present more risks to our business and financial results than the acquisition of a single hotel; the sale of a hotel or portfolio of hotels is typically subject to contingencies, risks and uncertainties, any of which may cause us to be unsuccessful in completing the disposition; the illiquidity of real estate investments and the lack of alternative uses of hotel properties could significantly limit our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our hotels; we may issue or invest in hotel loans, including subordinated or mezzanine loans, which could involve greater risks of loss than senior loans secured by income-producing real properties; if we make or invest in mortgage loans with the intent of gaining ownership of the hotel secured by or pledged to the loan, our ability to perfect an ownership interest in the hotel is subject to the sponsor’s willingness to forfeit the property in lieu of the debt; one of our hotels is subject to a ground lease with an unaffiliated party, the termination of which by the lessor for any reason, including due to our default on the lease, could cause us to lose the ability to operate the hotel altogether and may adversely affect our results of operations; because we are a REIT, we depend on third-parties to operate our hotels; we are subject to risks associated with our operators’ employment of hotel personnel; most of our hotels operate under a brand owned by Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Four Seasons or Montage. Should any of these brands experience a negative event, or receive negative publicity, our operating results may be harmed; our franchisors and brand managers may adopt new policies or change existing policies which could result in increased costs that could negatively impact our hotels; future adverse litigation judgments or settlements resulting from legal proceedings could have an adverse effect on our financial condition; claims by persons regarding our properties could affect the attractiveness of our hotels or cause us to incur additional expenses; the hotel business is seasonal and seasonal variations in business volume at our hotels will cause quarterly fluctuations in our revenue and operating results; changes in the debt and equity markets may adversely affect the value of our hotels; certain of our hotels have in the past become impaired and additional hotels may become impaired in the future; laws and governmental regulations may restrict the ways in which we use our hotel properties and increase the cost of compliance with such regulations. Noncompliance with such regulations could subject us to penalties, loss of value of our properties or civil damages; corporate responsibility, specifically related to ESG factors and commitments, may impose additional costs and expose us to new risks that could adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows; our franchisors and brand managers may require us to make capital expenditures pursuant to property improvement plans or to comply with brand standards; termination of any of our franchise, management or operating lease agreements could cause us to lose business or lead to a default or acceleration of our obligations under certain of our debt instruments; the growth of alternative reservation channels could adversely affect our business and …

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