NEW YORK: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which owns Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, saw revenue fall 2 percent to $1.85bn (£1.2bn) and operating profit fall 3 percent to $651m (£425m).
However, the group reported a 10 per cent rise in underlying profit and an increase in revenue per available room of 6.1 per cent.
IHG hopes to become more efficient in 2015 by moving from hotel ownership to franchise contracts.
Chief executive Richard Solomons said that 2014 was an excellent year for IHG as we delivered against our long term winning strategy for high quality growth. We achieved strong performance of 6.1 per cent, and our best net system size growth since 2009 of 3.4 per cent, increasing our operating profit on an underlying basis by 10 per cent.
He further added looking into 2015 we face many macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties, but are confident that our strategy for high quality growth coupled with the momentum in the business positions us well for continued strong performance.
The group opened 143 new hotels last year, bringing its global total to 4,840. IHG offers a total of 710,000 rooms worldwide, an increase of more than 23,000 year-on-year. It strengthened its position in boutique hotels with the $430m (£275m) takeover of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants in December.
The 6.1 per cent increase was largely driven by 7.4 per cent growth in the Americas.
Europe contributed 11 per cent of IHG’s operating profit before central overheads in 2014, with business focused on growth in its priority markets of the UK, Germany, Russia and the top 50 European cities, which contribute approximately 85 per cent of its total revenues in the region.
