By 
Intercontinental Hotels PLC (LON:IHG) said it opened 82 new hotels in the third quarter despite revenue dropping by 53% as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic lockdown took its toll.
In the Americas, the FTSE 100 firm opened 57 new hotels and closed 17 existing ones, in Greater China it opened 10 new sites, while in the rest of the world it opened 15 new ones and closed four. The Holiday Inn owner now has a total pipeline of 1,899 hotels.
READ: Intercontinental Hotels downgraded to ‘hold’ by Peel Hunt ahead of trading update
IHG said its occupancy rate in the three months to September 30, 2020, was at around 80% of last year’s levels, with positive cash flow, leading to total available liquidity of US$2.1bn at period-end.
Gross capital expenditure is expected to be US$150mln for 2020, US$100mln lower than last year, the group added.
“These results bear out the resilient quality of the business and it has a solid financing profile with no material bond maturities until the fourth quarter of 2024,” analysts at Peel Hunt commented.
“The business is well-placed as a travel business, but it is a travel business with a long period of recovery ahead of it and we believe the share price, which has performed relatively, is up with events.”
Shares dipped 2% to 4,194p on Friday morning.
–Adds analyst comment, shares–
Comments