LONDON, UK— InterContinental Hotels Plc reportedly posted a doubling of first-quarter profits tied to a growing hotel recovery in North America as well as in the U.K., with this news said to be responsible for boosting the price on the company’s stock shares. It was further noted the British-based group held out the prospect of further share buybacks— possibly as early as the second-half of 2004— as it pushes through on the sale of what was termed a quarter of its hotel assets. “We are continuing to see recovery in North America and [in the]U.K., with April staying strong,” Chief Executive Richard North was quoted as saying during a conference call. “And while continental Europe remains difficult, we are seeing small signs of recovery [there, too],” North purportedly added.. Views credited to North contend the group will put a further US$900 million (approximately) worth of hotels, on both sides of the Atlantic, up for sale within weeks in order to bring the company’s total hotel sell-off since the group’s demerger in April 2003 close to US$2 billion. InterContinental, running more than 3,500 hotels with over 500,000 rooms worldwide, reported pre-tax profits of some US$91 million for the first three months of 2004, versus about half that amount in the first-quarter a year ago. Shares in the group rose 2.9%, ostensibly spurred by higher-than-expected profits, a faster pace of asset sales, and prospects of further share buybacks. SOURCE: Reuters
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