NEW YORK (Bloomberg) Hilton Hotels Corp., the company that agreed to be bought by Blackstone Group LP for $20 billion, said profit exceeded analysts' estimates after it raised room rates.

Second-quarter net income climbed 15 percent to $165 million, or 40 cents a share, from $144 million, or 35 cents, a year earlier. Revenue increased four percent to $2 billion, the company said yesterday in a statement.

Blackstone's proposed buyout, which would end the hotelier's more than 60 years as a public company, is "proceeding on track," Hilton said yesterday. The hotel chain and competitors that cater to business travelers raised rates as demand for rooms at properties such as the Waldorf-Astoria in New York outpaces construction of new hotels.

"Seventy-five to 80 percent of their business is business-related demand," said William Crow, an analyst with Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Hilton withdrew its 2007 profit forecast and said it won't issue new guidance because of the pending sale to Blackstone.

Hilton said it earned 38 cents a share in the second quarter excluding one-time items such as a $47 million gain from the sale of the Scandic chain. Analysts estimated earnings of 33 cents on that basis, the average of 17 projections compiled by Bloomberg. They predicted revenue of $1.89 billion.

Before yesterday, Hilton shares had climbed 22 percent since July 3, the day before the sale was announced. Hilton, the second-largest US hotel company after Marriott International Inc., expects the purchase by Blackstone to close in the fourth quarter.