InterContinental Hotels profits from travel rebound

InterContinental  Hotels Group on Tuesday announced a return to first-half profits as  vaccination rollouts and the lifting of lockdowns boosted travel demand.

InterContinental,  whose brands also include Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, reported net  profit of $48 million (40.5 million euros) compared with a loss after  tax totalling $210 million in the first half of the previous year.

"Trading  improved significantly during the first half of 2021, with travel  demand returning strongly as vaccines roll out, restrictions ease, and  economic activity rebuilds," IHG chief executive Keith Barr said in the  earnings statement.

Barr said domestic leisure bookings in the US  and China had led the way, while the company also pointed to some  recovery in business travel. But he warned of risk of volatility  ahead as  "business trips, group bookings and international travel will  take time to fully recover".

The company decided against paying an interim dividend to shareholders.

Following  the results update, the IHG share price rose 0.3 per cent on London's  benchmark FTSE 100 index, which was flat overall.