Wyndham Worldwide Gains Most in Two Months on Profit Rise, Higher Forecast

Wyndham Worldwide Corp. rose the most in two months in New York trading after the franchiser of Days Inn hotels and Super 8 motels reported higher second- quarter earnings and raised its 2010 forecast.

Wyndham climbed $1.87, or 8 percent, to $25.14 at 4:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The increase was the biggest since May 10.

Full-year earnings per share excluding items will be $1.78 to $1.88, the Parsippany, New Jersey-based company said in a statement today. That compares with an earlier forecast of $1.56 to $1.71 a share. Net income for the second quarter climbed 34 percent from a year earlier to $95 million.

“This report was strong across the board and the company is firing on all cylinders,” Robert LaFleur, an analyst with Hudson Securities, said in a research note. Wyndham “trounced our estimates and guidance.”

The lodging industry is beginning to recover after the U.S. recession led consumers and business travelers to curtail spending in 2009. Higher earnings at the company’s vacation home business, as well as exchange-rate gains and lower taxes, helped lift Wyndham’s second-quarter profit, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Holmes said in the statement.

Second-quarter revenue at Wyndham increased 5 percent to $963 million. Revenue per available room at the lodging business fell 1.2 percent in constant currency, the company said.

Full-year revenue will total $3.7 billion to $4 billion, up from a previous forecast of $3.6 billion to $3.9 billion, Wyndham said. The company forecast third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 60 cents to 64 cents. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated profit of 58 cents on average.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nadja Brandt in Los Angeles at nbrandt@bloomberg.net.

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