InterContinental Hotels Posts Rising Profits

InterContinental Hotels Group said on Tuesday that net profits jumped 28 percent to $69 million (48 million euros) in the first quarter on strong growth in China and the United States.

The company, which owns the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn chains of hotels, said its profit after tax for the three months to March 31 compared with net earnings of $54 million in the first quarter of 2010.

"We delivered a strong set of results in the first quarter," IHG chief executive Andrew Cosslett said in the group's earnings statement.

"Global revenue per available room grew 6.9 percent, with 18.8 percent growth in Greater China and 8.4 percent in the U.S., the highest growth in the U.S. since the second quarter 2006."

IHG is the world's largest hotels operator by number of rooms.