IHG profits rise, UK market remains 'resilient'
The UK-based hotel operator announced RevPAR growth of 2.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 in the UK; compared with 2.6 per cent in France and 3.3 per cent in Germany.
IHG described its performance in Europe as 'robust' and said RevPAR in its key markets, including the UK, remained resilient despite a continued challenging economic climate.
Operating profit in Europe increased by 25 per cent which, after adjusting for a disposal of leased hotels last year, IHG said was in line with the same trading period a year earlier.
USA and China
Across the whole group operating profit grew by 5 per cent to $118m although Richard Solomons, chief executive, said the growth was driven by international markets.
"We have delivered strong performance in the quarter with global RevPAR up 7 per cent and continued outperformance in the US and Greater China. The strength of our brands and systems, together with our scale and the close working relationships we have with our hotel owners, continue to underpin our success."
"The global economic backdrop, particularly in Europe, is still challenging, but the considerable strengths of our business including our resilient model and strong balance sheet give us confidence that we will continue to drive high quality growth," he added.
Pipeline
IHG, which operates the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza brands, has a global pipeline of nearly 175,000 rooms or 1,098 hotels, 40 per cent of which are under construction.
In Europe the business signed five hotels in the quarter and opened eight more including the Hotel Indigo site in Edinburgh. The Hotel Indigo brand, which was recently recognised for upscale high guest satisfaction by the market research firm J.D. Power, now has sites in the UK in Liverpool, London, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Birmingham.
