InterContinental Hotels profits rise in first half

InterContinental Hotels Group said on Tuesday that its net profits climbed 11 percent to $156 million (109 million euros) in the first six months of 2011 on sales 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 six months to June compared with net earnings of $141 million in the first half of 2010. Overall revenue jumped 10 percent to $850 million at IHG, the world's largest hotels operator by number of rooms. "In the first half, we delivered a strong performance across each of our regions, driven both by increased occupancy from business and leisure travellers as well as progressive rate improvement," chief executive Richard Solomons said in a statement. He added that global revenue per available room -- a key industry measure -- grew 12.7 percent in China and 8.2 percent in the United States.