Shares in InterContinental Hotels (IHG) jumped 7 per cent on news that the group is to pay a $350m (£229m) special dividend, equating to 133¢ a share, after delivering a solid set of half-year results.
The global hotel group reported an impressive 3.7 per cent rise in revenue per available room (RevPAR), helped by rate rises of 1.9 per cent. The underlying operating profit, which strips out currency fluctuations and $40m of one-off receipts, rose 6 per cent to $338m. These profit gains were largely thanks to bumper trading in the Americas region, which accounts for 83 per cent of group profit. Here, RevPAR grew 4.5 per cent, pushing underlying revenue up 7 per cent to $457m and profit up 8 per cent to $282m.
Elsewhere, trading in Europe was solid, while a string of natural disasters in Western China and slower macroeconomic conditions impacted trading in the PRC. Still, InterContinental managed to outperform its rivals, helped by new hotel openings.
During the period, 15,000 rooms were added to the chain and more than 200 hotels were signed into the pipeline. The InterContinental London Park Lane was sold for a net $374m (£240m), but there was no fresh news on the disposal of InterContinental New York Barclay.
Broker Charles Stanley has left its full-year EPS forecasts unchanged at $1.58 (from $1.42 in 2012).
| INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS (IHG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,958p | MARKET VALUE: | £5.2bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,957-1,960p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 2,053p | LOW: 1,491p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.2% | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 155¢* | NET DEBT: | 207% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 878 | 279 | 93 | 21.0 |
| 2013 | 936 | 462 | 128 | 23.0** |
| % change | +7 | +66 | +37 | +10 |
Ex-div: 21 Aug Payment: 4 Oct *Includes intangible assets of $491m, or 186¢ a share **Excludes special dividend of 133¢ to be paid alongside half-year dividend £=$1.52 | ||||
