InterContinental brings back dividend amid recovery of global travel industry
British hotelier InterContinental has said it will reinstate its dividend, after posting “encouraging” results for the full year 2021 amid the recovery of the global travel industry.
In its 2021 results, InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG), which owns Holiday Inn Express, said its revenues per room had bounced back to 70 per cent of 2019 levels, due to the recovery of the global travel industry.
The Buckinghamshire headquartered group said the recovery had been particularly strong in the fourth quarter of 2021, as revenues per available room bounced back to 83 per cent of levels seen before the start of Covid-19.
IHG chief executive Keith Barr said: “As vaccination rates rise and restrictions are lifted around the world, we are seeing the demand for travel increase.”
In bringing back its dividend, the firm said the fundamentals of its business are considered to be unchanged in the face of the pandemic.
The hotel group claimed the pre-existing “tailwinds” driving the growth of the global travel industry, including a growing population, rising middle class, and the growing desire for new experience will continue to fuel growth in the future.
“The signs are encouraging that we are nearing the end of the pandemic, and we are confident in the strength of IHG’s enterprise, market positioning and ability to drive attractive levels of long-term, sustainable growth,” Barr said.
However, the firm warned that going forwards, the travel sector is likely to suffer from a drop in business travel.
The firm said it had a particularly strong recovery in its US business, particularly from its “non-urban” and resort locations.
In the UK, revenues per room were down 41 per cent in 2021, compared to pre-Covid, and down 16 per cent in Q4.