Earnings up 45 percent

Thursday, Oct. 7, 2004 | 9:13 a.m.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Hotel operator Marriott International Inc. said its third-quarter earnings rose 45 percent as growing demand for rooms helped drive revenue up 9 percent.

The Bethesda-based lodging giant reported Thursday earnings of $133 million, or 56 cents per share, for the quarter ending Sept. 10. That was up sharply from the $92 million, or 37 cents per share, Marriott earned in the same quarter of 2003.

The third-quarter results narrowly beat the consensus estimate of 55 cents per share made by analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.

Marriott said summer lodgers and a continuing improvement of the business travel market contributed to $2.2 billion in third-quarter revenue.

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