InterContinental Hotels Group’s third-quarter operating profit rose 9.2% from a year earlier, as the company cut debt and benefited from higher room rates in the U.S. and China.
IHG’s operating profit increased to $167 million from $153 million a year earlier. The company, which does not report GAAP net income, said revenue rose 1.3% to $473 million.
IHG’s revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the U.S. rose 4.6%, and average daily rate was up 4%. Growth was strongest for the InterContinental and Candlewood Suites brands.
In China, RevPAR was up 4%, almost exclusively on room-rate increases.
Worldwide, the company’s RevPAR was up 3.9% from a year earlier.
IHG reduced its debt by 27% from a year earlier to $472 million.
IHG also said it has reached agreements for its first 12 hotels under its Hualuxe brand in China as well as its first Even hotel for New York City.
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