Intercontinental Profits Jump 39% in Second Quarter
InterContinental Hotels Group on Tuesday announced a 39-percent jump in net profits for the second quarter to $121 million (97 million euros) on strong growth in China and the United States.
Following the strong results, IHG said it planned to return $1.0 billion to shareholders. The company's share price was up 6.84 percent to 1,733 pence in late deals on London's FTSE 100 index, which was flat.
The group which owns the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn chains said in a statement that its profit after tax for the three months to June 30 compared with net earnings of $87 million in the second quarter of 2011.
The world's largest hotels operator by number of rooms reported a 3.0-percent increase in revenues to $469 million in the second quarter compared with a year earlier.
"While the global economic environment remains uncertain, IHG continues to trade well and we are confident that our strategy will deliver high quality growth into the future," chief executive Richard Solomons said in the statement.
The company said funds would be returned to shareholders through a $500-million special dividend and a $500-million share buyback program.
Source: Agence France Presse
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