�Nineteen ninety-nine brought us one step closer to achieving our next goal, which is to be recognized as a �blue chip� company, one of the mainstays of the international marketplace,� said Isadore Sharp, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. �We have all the elements in place to make it happen: a global brand name, a dominant market position and a sustainable competitive advantage. These key performance drivers, ones that lead to outstanding business success, have been the mainstay of our business practices for the better part of three decades.� 

Dynamic Decade Reviewed

Vice Chairman Roger Garland kicked off the meeting with a recap of the company�s performance in 1999, which has been reflected in its year-end stock price of nearly $77, an increase of over 70 per cent from its 1998 level.

�During 1999, Four Seasons� share price increased over 70 per cent, compared to a 10 per cent decline in the lodging industry index and a 20 per cent increase in the Standard and Poors 500 index,� said Garland. �Since last year�s Annual General Meeting, shareholder value, as measured by market capitalisation, has increased by over $1 billion dollars, nearly 50 per cent higher. That�s great news for our investors.�
Since the beginning of this year, the company�s stock price has increased by over 10 per cent. In addition to the company�s healthy stock level, Garland summarised the past decade of achievements for Four Seasons.

Highlights include:

• Revenues under management have grown from $666 million to nearly $2.4 billion - an increase of 250 per cent; 

• Management fees have increased from $38 million to $144 million - nearly 300 percent; 

• Profit margin on the management business has gone from 39 to 62 per cent; 

• Normalised net earnings have gone from $17 million to $87 million, an increase of over 400 percent. 

Four Seasons has also significantly exceeded industry performance in RevPAR (room revenue per available room). In 1999, Four Seasons� RevPAR exceeded the luxury sector by 135 per cent; compared to Ritz Carlton, its closest competitor, Four Seasons� RevPAR is stronger by nearly 40 per cent higher.

This trend has continued into 2000, as indicated by the company�s strong first quarter results. Virtually all of the company�s Core Hotels (those in operation during both the current period and previous comparable period) exceeded their budgeted RevPAR targets during the first quarter, with all geographic regions realizing growth during the quarter.

Global Expansion

The past year has seen Four Seasons open more hotels in a single year than ever before in its nearly 40-year history, and this strategic expansion marks the company�s future direction.

�Over the course of the next three years, we will be opening 19 new properties around the world, and increasing the number of properties we manage by nearly 40 per cent,� commented Garland. �Beyond the next phase of growth, there are still many opportunities for new projects globally, including city centre hotels in Europe, South America and Asia, and resorts in North America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.�
 

Openings of note in 1999 include Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas, which garnered AAA�s prestigious Five Diamond Award after only eight months of operation, and Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris, a new crown jewel in the company�s European portfolio. These hotels joined other new 1999 properties, including Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, Mexico; Four Seasons Hotel Canary Wharf (London); and the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale, in Arizona.  Broader Brand Reach Pivotal to the continued success of Four Seasons is its most important asset - the Four Seasons brand name.

Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas 3960 Las Vegas Blvd. South  Las Vegas, Nevada

�Our brand is evolving into a special class of its own, and is taking us into a unique category for a hotel company, that of a lifestyle company,� noted Sharp. �Our clients increasingly gravitate toward Four Seasons, much as they gravitate to other luxury brands, because the Four Seasons brand helps define, preserve or create the lifestyle image they want to present.�

In recent years, the company has begun to leverage the Four Seasons brand more assertively, including brand extensions into Four Seasons Residence Clubs and Four Seasons branded and serviced residential real estate developments. These complementary and compatible extensions of the brand and the business will continue to be included in the company�s new developments and are expected to be as well received as they have been to date.

Conclusion

�Our outlook for the future has never been so bright,� concluded Sharp. �Looking ahead, we can see the mounting potential across the world-wide real estate spectrum of high-end quality development. I believe we really can say the best is yet to come.�

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is the world�s leading operator of luxury hotels and currently manages 48 properties in 20 countries, primarily under the Four Seasons and Regent brand names.