BENGALURU: InterContinental Hotels Group Plc on Friday posted a better-than-expected rise in first-quarter global room revenue on strong demand in China, and said it was confident in the outlook for the year ahead.
Revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key industry measure, rose 3.5 percent in the three months to March 31, above Morgan Stanley’s estimate of 2.5 percent. This compares with a 2.7 percent growth reported a year earlier.
Strong corporate demand and higher occupancies owing to the Chinese New Year lifted RevPAR growth in its Greater China region to 11 percent in the quarter, with 10 percent growth in mainland China.
In the United States, the largest market for the company in terms of room numbers, RevPAR was up 2.2 percent, which compared with a rise of 1.9 percent a year ago.
The group is expanding its luxury offering and focusing on business customers to help it weather rising competition from online rental marketplaces.
IHG signed an agreement on Thursday to rebrand and operate a portfolio of 13 upmarket hotels in Britain.
The hotelier, which runs over 5,000 hotels under brands such as Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and InterContinental, said the weakening of the US dollar against many major currencies increased group RevPAR to 6.5 percent in the quarter.
Continental Europe RevPAR was up 6 percent in the first quarter, helped by “continued recovery in terror impacted markets,” the company said.
Hotelier IHG room revenue rises on strong demand in China
Hotelier IHG room revenue rises on strong demand in China
DP World announces new leadership appointments
DUBAI: DP World announced the appointment of Essa Kazim as Chairman of its Board of Directors and the appointment of Yuvraj Narayan as Group Chief Executive Officer.
Essa Kazim currently serves as Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre and Chairman of Borse Dubai. He brings extensive experience in financial and economic affairs, having previously held senior leadership positions in several national institutions.
Yuvraj Narayan has extensive professional experience in financial management, corporate finance, supply chains, and global trade. Since joining DP World in 2004, he has led a number of strategic and transformational initiatives that supported the company’s expansion across international markets and strengthened its role as an integrated global provider of end-to-end supply chain solutions.
Narayan has served as Group Chief Financial Officer since 2005, contributing to the company’s financial resilience and operational efficiency.
DP World affirmed that the new appointments support its strategy for sustainable growth and reinforce its role in strengthening global supply chains and supporting Dubai’s position as a leading hub for trade and logistics.
