IHG reports UK RevPAR growth of 2.5% in 2012
Revealing its preliminary financial results for the year to 31 December 2012, the UK-based hotel firm announced it made $614m operating profit in the 12-month period, up 11 per cent on 2011.
Richard Solomons, chief executive of IHG, said the success had been driven by increased revenues in the USA and an expansion of hotel operations in developing markets.
"2012 was another year of significant progress for IHG with our preferred brands driving RevPAR up 5.2 per cent, led by the US up 6.3 per cent," he said.
The operator launched two new brands in 2012 - Even Hotels in the USA and Hualuxe Hotels and Resorts in China.
Tom Singer, IHG chief financial officer, reveals the company's 2012 results:
"IHG’s proven strategy and resilient business model position us for further good performance in 2013, despite the challenging economic environment," Solomons added.
The hotelier also revealed a significant majority of its rooms revenue had come from guests who had booked through direct IHG channels or through priority scheme members.
Strong pace
UK RevPAR was below the worldwide average but above the average for Europe where revenue per available room across all markets jumped by 1.7 per cent.
The Crowne Plaza and Holiday Express operator described its European performance as 'robust' with a 'strong pace' of new openings.
"The financing environment remained tough through 2012 in many of our key markets, but we still signed on average one hotel a day into our pipeline.
"This reflects the excellent relationship we enjoy with our owners and further strengthens our foundation for high quality growth," Solomons said.
UK transactions
Last year, IHG opened only its second property in London under the company's signature brand - the InterContinental London Westminster Hotel opened in December.
The company opened five properties in Europe under its boutique concept Hotel Indigo and signed deals on seven more, including a second venue in Birmingham.
As reported on BigHospitality in August, the British firm is currently pursuing an asset-light strategy and will sell key hotels, including the famous InterContinental London Park Lane venue, in order to return capital to shareholders.
The company, which operates in more than 4,500 hotels around the world, today confirmed the sale process for the landmark hotel had now begun.
