InterContinental hotels reports profit plunge, blames tax

InterContinental Hotels Group, the world's largest hotel operator by number of rooms, said on Tuesday that annual net profit plunged owing to increased tax charges, AFP reports. Profit after tax dropped 31 percent to $372 million (271 million euros) last year compared with the group's performance in 2012, IHG said in an earnings statement. But pre-tax profit rose by almost 10 percent to $600 million for IHG, which owns the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands. "We delivered good underlying growth in revenues and profits," the company's chief executive Richard Solomons said in the statement. "Looking into 2014, although economic conditions in some markets remain uncertain, forward bookings data is encouraging and we are confident that we will deliver another year of growth." IHG revenue grew 4.0 percent to $1.9 billion in 2013. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) -- a key industry measure -- gained 3.8 percent. It raised its full-year dividend by 9.0 percent to 70 US cents per share and announced on Tuesday that it had sold the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco hotel for $120 million.