Strong US helps IHG book rise in profits

InterContinental Hotels Group, the world’s biggest hotelier, posted an 11 per cent rise in 2012 profit, underpinned by a strong US business and expansion in developing mar- kets.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Feb 2013, 01:00 BST

The hotelier, home to the Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and InterContinental brands, yesterday reported a 2012 operating profit of $614m, ahead of a $605m company supplied consensus estimate.

Annual revenue rose 5 per cent to $1.84bn, while the dividend rose 16 per cent to 64 cents.

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Growth in global revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key hotel industry measure, grew 5.2 per cent in 2012, with its core US market 6.3 per cent ahead and China up 5.4 per cent.

The British group, which operates more than 670,000 rooms in over 4,500 hotels worldwide, said it was positioned for a further good performance in 2013 with January global RevPAR up 6.6 per cent.

Earlier this month, Sheraton-owner Starwood posted higher-than-expected earnings and raised the lower end of its 2013 forecast for RevPAR.

As part of its strategy to sell assets in return for management contracts, similar to US peers like Marriott, InterContinental said it continued to market its New York Barclay Hotel and that the disposal process for its London Park Lane property had start- ed.

Analysts expect the two to fetch over $700m.

IHG opened a net 18,000 rooms during the year and has a pipeline of around 169,000, in line with expectations.

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