InterContinental Hotels Group (LSE:IHG), the hotel operator behind brands including Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and voco, said operating profit from reportable segments rose 10% to $665m in the six months to 30 June, compared with the same period last year.
Adjusted earnings per share climbed 13% to 274.7 cents, helped by a 4% reduction in the weighted average share count alongside the profit growth. Global revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose 4.1% in the first half, with the Americas up 4.8%, EMEAA up 3.0% and Greater China up 3.1%.
The group opened a record 31.5k rooms across 197 hotels in the period, up 8% year-on-year excluding last year's Ruby brand acquisition, while signings rose 8% on the same organic basis to 49.2k rooms across 352 hotels.
Fee margin expanded 1.2 percentage points to 65.9%, as fee business revenue growth of 7% outpaced 4% cost growth.
Net debt increased by $330m since the start of the year, driven largely by $564m returned to shareholders through dividends and buybacks, taking the net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio to 2.63x.
IHG raised its interim dividend 10% to 64.5 cents and confirmed its $950m 2026 share buyback programme is 42% complete.
"This robust revenue growth, combined with an acceleration in net system growth, an efficient cost base driving further margin expansion and the ongoing return of surplus capital to shareholders, delivered adjusted EPS growth of +13%", said chief executive Elie Maalouf.
Maalouf said the company remains on track to meet full-year consensus profit and earnings expectations, despite ongoing disruption from the Middle East conflict that it expects to be offset by growth elsewhere.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
IHG delivered double-digit adjusted EPS growth (13%) on the back of 10% operating profit expansion and record hotel openings, while maintaining disciplined capital allocation. The company is executing on both growth (8% organic room signings, 4.1% RevPAR uplift) and shareholder returns ($564m deployed in H1, $950m buyback 42% complete), with management reaffirming full-year guidance despite Middle East headwinds.
The results reinforce IHG's asset-light model: fee margin expansion to 65.9% (up 1.2pp) shows the franchise business is scaling efficiently even as the company returns capital. At 2.63x net debt to EBITDA, leverage remains manageable and consistent with the $1.2bn+ shareholder return commitment through 2026, though the $330m net debt increase warrants monitoring if growth slows.
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