InterContinental Hotels Group revenue growth hit by stronger dollar

8th May 2015 07:45

InterContinental Hotels Group registered a sizable increase in revenues at the start of the year, although much of that was undone was by a strengthening US dollar.In the first three months of 2015 revenues per available room (RevPAR), the key metric for the industry, raced ahead at a 5.9% pace in comparable terms, with growth in all of the four regions in which the company operates.Net system size increased by 4.9% to 723,000 rooms.At 6.2% RevPAR growth was highest in the Americas and in Asia, Middle East&Africa. On the other hand, in Greater China it was just 2.4%, although the company said trading there was "robust".RevPAR in Europe rose by 5.8%, with solid growth in the UK and Germany.However, the strengthening greenback saw the rate of RevPAR growth at actual exchange rates cut down to just 1.5%.The firm's gross capital expenditure guidance for the year was maintained at up to $350m.Commenting on the figures the company's boss, Richard Solomons, wrote: "With our current trading performance and the strong momentum behind our brands we remain confident that our winning strategy will continue to deliver sustainable high quality growth."