Marriott International has reported net income of $247 million for the second quarter of 2016, compared to $240 million in the year-ago quarter.

The reported diluted earnings per share was $0.96 over the period, compared to $0.87 in the second quarter of 2015.

Arne Sorenson, president and chief executive officer of Marriott International, said: “Marriott’s second quarter results demonstrate the company’s strength.

“Leading brands and a focus on bottom line results delivered strong results in the second quarter. 

“While hotel performance reflected generally slower economic growth, leisure travel demand remained robust and group business performed well. 

“Attendance at group meetings was on track during the quarter, group cancellations remain low and we continue to see strong future group bookings. 

“We increased property-level house profit margins at our company-operated hotels, improving efficiency while delivering outstanding service to our guests.

Marriott revenues totalled $3.9 billion in the 2016 second quarter compared to revenues of approximately $3.7 billion for the second quarter of 2015.

Base management and franchise fees totalled $421 million compared to $412 million in the year-ago quarter.

The year-over-year increase largely reflects higher RevPAR and unit growth, partially offset by $9 million of lower deferred fee recognition, $6 million of unfavourable foreign exchange and $3 million of lower relicensing fees.

“We added nearly 11,000 rooms to our lodging portfolio during the quarter, with one-third of those rooms in markets outside North America,” continued Sorenson.

“Owners continue to prefer our brands, increasing our development pipeline to more than 285,000 rooms at quarter-end.

“Our business model remains focused on managing or franchising the finest hotel brands around the world.

“This asset-light strategy minimises our exposure to economic cycles even as our brands grow their distribution.”