InterContinental Hotels H1 Profit Climbs; Says Confident In Rest Of Year View

(RTTNews) - InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG.L, IHG) reported Thursday that its first-half pre-tax profit climbed 21.5 percent to $458 million from $377 million last year. Earnings per share were 156.2 cents, up 68 percent from 93 cents a year ago.

Adjusted earnings per share were 87.2 cents, compared to 70.7 cents a year ago.

Revenue for the first half edged up 0.8 percent to $915 million from last year's $908 million. Americas revenues grew 8.3 percent, while that of Europe went down 20.9 percent. AMEA posted 0.9 percent drop, while Greater China posted 5.4 percent growth.

Global comparable RevPAR went up 5.1 percent, with growth across all regions. Second-quarter comparable RevPAR growth was 4.4 percent.

Further, the company proposed interim dividend increase of 10 percent to 27.5 cents, reflecting confidence in outlook and the cash generative nature of fee business model.

Richard Solomons, Chief Executive, said, "Looking forward, based on current trading trends, we remain confident in the outlook for the rest of the year."