InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG) said it will be returning US$750mln to shareholders as part of its share buyback after reporting an uptick in 2022 profits.
For the year to 31 December 2022, the owner of hotel chains such as Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza said operating profits increased 27% to US$628mln, while revenues were up 34% to US$3.8bn.
During 2022, the FTSE 100 group said global revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased by 37% compared with 2021. RevPAR recovery was strongest in America, up 3.3% compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, while China continued to be hampered by COVID restrictions.
"In 2022 we saw demand return strongly in most of our markets, pushing group RevPAR back close to 2019 levels and fee margin ahead. It's particularly pleasing that in the second half of the year we exceeded 2019 levels for both RevPAR and profitability,” said chief executive Keith Barr.
IHG added 49,400 rooms across 269 hotels, taking the group’s global estate to 912,000 rooms at 6,164 hotels.
The outlook has some continued challenges and uncertainties, although current conditions, including employment, consumer savings and business activity levels, remain supportive of the industry, the group said.
“Looking to 2023, while there are economic uncertainties, we expect continued strong leisure demand in many markets, alongside further return of business and group travel and the ongoing reopening of China,” Barr added.
IHG’s final dividend increased 10% to 94.5c, giving a full-year payout of 138.4c.