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Panmure Gordon raises target from 1,555p to 1,625p, buy rating unchanged;
Coverage InterContinental Hotels Group has whacked up the full year dividend by 15% after it continued to outperform the hotel industry in key markets such as the US and Greater China in 2011. Revenue in 2011 rose 9%, or 7% on a constant exchange rates (CER) basis, to $1,768m from $1,628m in 2010, ahead of market expectations of $1,761m. Operating profit surged 26% (CER:25%) to $559m from $444m the year before, and underlying earnings per share rose 32% to 130.4 cents from 2010's 98.6 cents.
Richard Solomons, Chief Executive of InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, said: "The strength of our brands, underpinned by our global systems and scale, delivered 6.2% growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the year. We have continued to outperform the industry in key markets such as the US and Greater China where RevPAR was up 7.9% and 10.7% respectively. We are strengthening our business through developing our brand portfolio supported by targeted investment. We also ensure that our hotels with our best in class delivery systems are known for industry leading guest experiences delivered by talented people and dedicated owners. Looking ahead, in spite of considerable uncertainty in the Eurozone, IHG is well positioned globally to benefit from positive long term industry trends and, in particular, growing demand in emerging markets. Our 15% dividend growth reflects the confidence we have in our ability to deliver high quality growth through market share and margin gains, due to our preferred brands, geographic diversity, robust balance sheet and scalable business model."
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201202140700303440X
Thats a chart to warm the cockles of anyones heart!
Panmure Gordon reiterated its "buy" recommendation for InterContinental Hotels (IHG) with an increased target price of 1,555p, from 1,420p. The broker forecasts the hotel chain to report full year EBIT of 544 million dollars (344.9 million pounds), 22% higher than in 2010. Earnings forecasts put the company on a multiple of 17.8 times, which the broker admitted is not cheap, but added that its exposure to the US market could lead to forecast upgrades. However, Shore Capital rates the firm a "sell", noting that the shares have outperformed the FTSE All Share by 20% over the last three months. Additionally, Shore pointed out that the group has limited growth visibility and is highly vulnerable to changing economic conditions. InterContinental shares advanced by 18p to 1,397p.
David Webster is to stand down as chairman of InterContinental Hotels Group after eight years. Mr Webster, the co-founder and former chairman of supermarket chain Safeway, is one of the longest standing chairmen in the FTSE100. It is understood he informed the board of his decision to depart just before Christmas. An external search is underway and headhunters have been appointed. The senior independent director, David Kappler, is overseeing the process on behalf of the board. Possible candidates to replace Mr Webster include Sir Stuart Rose, the former chairman of Marks and Spencer, and Allan Leighton, the former Royal Mail chairman. One internal candidate is thought to exist in the shape of Luke Mayhew, the former managing director of retailer John Lewis, The Telegraph reports.
The US economy saw tepid growth in the second quarter, with analysts increasingly worried about the strength of the recovery. But this uncertain backdrop has not stopped InterContinental Hotels, the world's biggest hotelier, from powering ahead in the past nine months, with the US arm seeing strong demand, writes the Investments column in the Independent. It has registered growth in revenue per available room (revpar) – a key measure for the hotel industry – at all of its seven brands across the pond, including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo. We believe that IHG – which trades on a forward earnings multiple of just over 8 – is still a buy and will rebound. Future investors should also note its shares are forecast to yield more than 6 per cent next year. Buy, recommends the paper
Evolution Securities has maintained its buy rating and 1,330p target price on Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza owner InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), following the release of the group's third quarter US performance. "The 1H strength in the US has continued into 3Q, with an improving month-on-month trend through the quarter. This is a positive catalyst for the share price and we retain our buy recommendation," said analyst Nigel Parson. "InterContinental’s shares have shown a small recovery since mid August and these results support further positive momentum, partially negating market concerns over the US consumer outlook," Parson added.
Natixis retains buy on InterContinental Hotels, target cut from 1,500p to 1,200p
Yum man checks in at InterContinental A director of Holiday Inn owner InterContinental Hotels has bumped up his stake in the company taking 5,000 American depository shares (ADS) for a total of nearly £50,000. The shares, each worth $15.90, or 965.74p, were purchased by non-executive director Graham Allan, bringing his total to 12,000 shares. ADS's are shares which have been purchased by American banks and are available to investors to buy on the US equity market.
UBS upgrades InterContinental Hotels Group from sell to neutral, target price cut from 1080p to 1050p.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201108090700129815L
Richard Solomons, incoming Chief Executive and currently CFO and Head of Commercial Development of IHG, said: "The sale of the Hotel Indigo San Diego is another great example of our asset light strategy and brand building in action. We built this showcase Hotel Indigo using IHG's own capital in 2009 to drive growth of this branded-boutique hotel brand across the Americas and accelerate international expansion." Since then IHG has signed 45 Hotel Indigo hotels globally including 14 in Europe and 6 in Asia. Solomons added: "We are now able to recycle the capital to develop our brands, for example through the recently announced joint venture with Brack Capital Real Estate to develop a Hotel Indigo hotel on the Lower East Side of Manhattan." "We are extremely pleased to acquire San Diego's first LEED-certified hotel and our first Hotel Indigo property" said James Francis, President and CEO of Chesapeake Lodging Trust. "IHG has a superb track record in lodging and from launch in 2004 has quickly established Hotel Indigo as a premier brand. We are very excited to be developing a long-term relationship with IHG and look forward to working with them on this high quality hotel, as well as future opportunities."
IHG announces sale of Hotel Indigo San Diego for $55.5m London, 20 June 2011 - IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG; NYSE: IHG (ADRs)] announces the sale of the 210-room Hotel Indigo San Diego to Chesapeake (Chesapeake Lodging Trust) for US$55.5 million in cash. IHG will continue to manage the hotel under a long-term management agreement. The sale is a continuation of IHG's strategy of growing its management and franchise businesses and reducing capital intensity. Since 2003, IHG has released $5.7 billion of capital through the sale of 187 hotels and the divestment of equity stakes. Over the same period, IHG has returned almost $6 billion to shareholders. During 2011 alone, IHG has agreed proceeds of over $140m for the sale of three hotels and divestment of an equity stake, with a combined net book value of $105m. Following this sale, IHG has 12 owned hotels with the InterContinental New York Barclay currently on the market.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201106201200017363I
Intercontinental confident after strong quarter Date: Tuesday 10 May 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - Intercontinental Hotels said it is confident for the full year after strong growth in the US, where it posted the biggest increase in the amount it makes for every available room since before the financial crisis, helped boost profits. Pre-tax profits before exceptional items at the Holiday Inns owner climbed to $96m from $68m on revenues that were up to $396m from $362m. RevPAR (revenue per available room, a key metric for the hotel sector) was up by 6.9%, helped by an 18.8% increase in the greater China area and an 8.4% rise in the US, the highest growth since the second quarter of 2006. Growth was more subdued in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region at 3%, with tensions in Egypt and Bahrain hitting profits. “We remain confident about the outlook for the rest of the year,” said chief executive Andrew Coslett. “Demand for our brands continues to strengthen with both guests and hotel owners
Andrew Cosslett, Chief Executive of InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, said: "We delivered a strong set of results in the first quarter. Global revenue per available room (RevPAR) grew 6.9%, with 18.8% growth in Greater China and 8.4% in the US, the highest growth in the US since the second quarter 2006. Underlying revenue growth of 6% was converted to 23% operating profit growth, reflecting good use of our scale and the efficiency of our business model. "Our strategy to free up capital to drive growth for our brands is on track. Post quarter end we sold two hotels in the US, with proceeds substantially above book value. We have recently committed to enter into a joint venture with Duet Hotels to take Holiday Inn Express into India, developing 19 new hotels by 2016. "During the quarter, we welcomed The Venetian and The Palazzo Las Vegas into our system as our first InterContinental Alliance Resorts, boosting room supply by almost 7,000 and we continue to look for further opportunities of this kind. "We remain confident about the outlook for the rest of the year. Demand for our brands continues to strengthen with both guests and hotel owners. This is driving our performance and reinforcing our industry leading pipeline. We are well positioned to take advantage of the gathering rate momentum we now see around the world. "My time with IHG comes to a close on 30 June and I would like to thank all the people I've worked with over the past six years. I now hand over the reins to Richard Solomons, confident that he and the excellent team we have in place will lead IHG to a bright future."
Jamie Rollo, analyst at Morgan Stanley, said he was bullish on the hotel sector in a note to clients today. He sees at least three more years of strong growth. His preferred stocks on the LSE are Intercontinental Hotels (LON:IHG) and Whitbread (LON:WHB). “With a multi-year upswing likely, which could develop into rising portfolio transactions and M&A activity, we expect multiples to remain underpinned and see ongoing upside risks to forecasts,” Rollo said.
IHG announces on-strategy sale of hotels to Summit Hotel Properties for $17 million London, 31 March 2011- IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON: IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] announces the sale of two hotels, the 121-room Staybridge Suites Denver Cherry Creek and the 143-room Holiday Inn Atlanta-Gwinnett Place, for a combined total of US$17 million to Summit (Summit Hotel Properties Inc.) a US-based real estate investment trust. IHG will continue to manage the Holiday Inn under a long term management agreement, while the Staybridge Suites will continue to operate under a long term license agreement with IHG. The sale is subject to customary closing requirements and conditions and is expected to complete by early May. The hotels generated gross revenues of US$6.9m with EBITDA of $2.2m and EBIT of $1.5m in 2010 and had a net book value of US$13.4m as of 31 December 2010. Summit will invest approximately $2.5m in capital improvements. Richard Solomons, IHG's Chief Financial Officer and Head of Commercial Development, said, "The sale of the hotels to Summit is a further example of our asset strategy in action. We have sold the hotels above net book value, giving us capital we can re-invest to develop our brands. We are delighted our relationship with Summit has driven a great result for the business so quickly and look forward to working with them on future deals." In February, IHG formed a strategic relationship with Summit a US hotel real estate investment trust focused on premium-branded select service hotels in the upscale and midscale without food and beverage sectors. In connection with Summit's initial public offering, which closed on 14 February 2011, IHG purchased 1,274,000 shares of Summit common stock, representing approximately 4.7%, for a purchase price of $11.6m. Of Summit's 65 properties seven already carry IHG's brands, and under a sourcing agreement, Summit will provide IHG an exclusive right for a period of five years, of first offer to franchise or manage any unbranded hotel bought by them which they want to brand. Since 2003, IHG has released $5.6 billion of capital through the sale of 185 owned hotels and the divestment of equity stakes and over the same period returned almost $6 billion to shareholders. Following the sale of the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, IHG had 15 owned hotels at the end of 2010. This new agreement reduces the number of owned hotels to 13 with the flagship InterContinental New York Barclay currently on the market.
Intercontinental Hotels chief hands over reins Date: Wednesday 16 Mar 2011 LONDON (ShareCast) - InterContinental Hotels’ chief executive Andrew Cosslett has shocked the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inns chains owner by handing in his notice. Long-serving Cosslett will stand down on 30 June to be replaced by finance director Richard Solomons, who has been on the board since 2003. Solomons is also head of Head of Commercial Development. "Andy has been an outstanding chief executive since joining the company in February 2005 and we are very appreciative of the contribution he has made during his time at IHG. While we understand and respect his decision to leave at this stage, we are extremely sorry to see him go,” David Webster, Chairman of InterContinental Hotels said. “Richard and Andy have worked very closely over the last six years and in making this appointment the board is ensuring continuity in management and in our strategy to drive growth,” he added. Mr Cosslett said " We have a powerful portfolio of brands, including a now fully rejuvenated Holiday Inn, and established leading positions in the biggest and fastest growing markets of the world, including China. The prospects for the Group are excellent and with IHG entering the next phase of its development, and after six years, this is the right time to hand over the reins,". Aged 55, he took over as CEO at Intercontinental in 2005 after 14 years in marketing and general management at Cadbury Schweppes.
Intercontinental Hotels (IHG) reported on an "excellent year" ended 31st December 2010, swinging to a pre-tax profit, but news that the unrest in Egypt will cost the group 3 million dollars (1.87 million pounds) in 2011 pushed the hotel operators shares down 29p to 1,357p. The world's largest hotel group by number of rooms posted a pre-tax profit of 397 million dollars (248 million pounds), up from a 64 million dollars (40 million pounds) loss a year earlier, on revenue 5.9% greater a 1.63 billion dollars (1.02 billion pounds). In light of this, the group decided to increase total dividend per share by 16% to 48 cents (30 pence).