InterContinental Hotels Group Plc's (IHG) second-quarter room revenue growth accelerated, helped by higher demand in China, it said on Tuesday.
Revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose 3.7 percent in the three months to June 30, higher than the 3.5 percent growth in first quarter and 1.5 percent a year earlier.
"We've had a really strong start to the year," IHG Chief Executive Keith Barr told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Tuesday. "The number of hotel rooms we've opened up around the world is up 4.1 percent," he said, adding that underlying profit was up 8 percent and earnings per share was up 25 percent, enabling the company to increase its interim dividend by 10 percent.
The British multinational launched two new brands in 2018, Avid Hotels in the U.S. and Voco Hotels in Europe and Asia, and in July acquired a 51 percent stake in the luxury Regent Hotels brand. The company said it was on track to deliver about $125 million in annual savings by 2020, which it plans to reinvest to drive growth.
