Declines in travel unit dampens Carlson's 2012 revenue

Carlson, a global hospitality and travel company based in Minnetonka, reported flat year-over-year sales of $37.6 billion, the Star Tribune reports. Managed revenue -- the amount of money returned to the company -- dropped 1.5 percent to $4.4 billion.

Improvement in its hotels and restaurants businesses helped offset declines in travel, especially in Europe.

“As we begin the fourth year of Ambition 2015, I’m encouraged at the progress we have made,” Trudy Rautio, president and chief executive officer of Carlson said in a news release. “We have strengthened our sales and revenue generation activities to enhance performance, and we have improved the guest experience through innovations in each of our core businesses. Moving forward, we will continue to strategically invest in our brands and businesses to ensure the long-term sustainability and growth of Carlson.”

Carlson’s board selected chief financial officer Trudy Rautio, a 15-year Carlson executive, to be the company’s next president and chief executive officer, the newspaper says.

Rautio was named Carlson's new CEO last summer after Hubert Joly left the company to take the top spot at Richfield-based Best Buy.