99.1

Final Results dated 20 February 2018

Financial summary1

Reported

Underlying2

& Headlines

2017

2016

% Change

2017

2016

% Change

Revenue

$1,784m

$1,715m

4%

$1,633m

$1,553m

5%

Total Gross Revenue

$25,702m

$24,479m

5%

$25,942m

$24,479m

6%

Fee Revenue3

$1,437m

$1,380m

4%

$1,449m

$1,380m

5%

Operating profit

$759m

$707m

7%

$759m

$700m

8%

Fee margin3

50.4%

48.8%

1.6%pts

50.2%

48.8%

1.4%pts

Adjusted EPS

244.6¢

203.3¢

20%

245.1¢

200.9¢

22%

Basic EPS4

306.7¢

195.3¢

57%

Total dividend per share

104.0¢

94.0¢

11%

Net debt

$1,851m

$1,506m

1All figures before exceptional items unless otherwise noted. 2Excluding owned asset disposals, managed leases and significant liquidated damages at constant FY16 exchange rates (CER). Underlying adjusted EPS based on underlying EBIT, effective tax rate, and reported interest at actual exchange rates. See the Business Review for definition of nonGAAP measures and reconciliation to GAAP measures.  3Group result excluding owned & leased hotels, managed leases and significant liquidated damages.  4After exceptional items.

Keith Barr, Chief Executive of IHG, said:

"We delivered a strong performance in 2017, with RevPAR growth of 2.7% and net system size growth of 4.0%. This has driven an 8% increase in underlying operating profit and a 22% increase in underlying EPS, and underpins our decision to raise the total dividend by 11% for the year.

 

In recent years, we have built a powerful and effective enterprise which has supported our transition to being fully asset light, and driven strong performance across our 5,300 hotels.  Today we are announcing a series of new initiatives that build on our well-established strategy and will drive an acceleration in our growth rate.

 

These initiatives are focused around redeploying and refocusing resources to leverage our scale; strengthening our loyalty programme; continuing to prioritise digital and technological innovation; enhancing our industry leading franchise proposition; strengthening our existing brands; and adding new brands where we see the greatest potential for growth.   

 

We moved at pace to develop and roll-out the concept for our new mainstream brand, avid hotels. Since September we have signed 75 hotels, with the first due to open later this year and a global launch being planned.  Building on this successful approach, we will launch a new upscale conversion brand in 2018, leveraging the power of our system to capture share of this significant premium priced market.  We will also build out our development resource and capability in the sizeable global luxury segment, where we are looking to acquire small luxury brand(s) to incubate and grow.

 

In order for us to capitalise on the opportunities ahead, we are undertaking a comprehensive efficiency programme to realise ~$125m in annual savings for reinvestment to drive growth. This builds on our ongoing work to relentlessly manage costs, which has led to significant margin growth in recent years.

 

We remain positive in the outlook for the year ahead and we are confident that our ambitious plans will deliver a meaningful change in IHG's growth and drive industry-leading net rooms growth over the medium term."

 

Strategic update - making our model work harder to deliver medium-term industry-leading net rooms growth

a.   Build and leverage scale

-       New organisational design will redeploy resources to leverage our scale better, and to accelerate our growth: a new regional structure, integrated commercial & technology organisation, and a new global marketing organisation.

 

b.   Strengthen loyalty programme

-       Continue to innovate IHG Rewards Club to further differentiate our offering and to leverage loyalty partnerships.

 

c.   Enhance revenue delivery

-       Prioritise digital and technological innovation to drive increased direct revenues e.g. Guest Reservation System.

 

d.   Evolve owner proposition

-       Upweight owner support to accelerate growth; expand our industry-leading franchise offer for Greater China; and evolve the owner proposition and operating model for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants to further accelerate growth.

 

e.   Optimise our preferred portfolio of brands for owners and guests

-       Strengthen portfolio of existing brands; continued innovation to drive accelerated growth.

-       Augment portfolio with new brands to match identified opportunities: grow avid hotels to a scale position; launch an upscale conversion brand in 2018; build out global luxury brand portfolio, development resource and capability.

 

f.    Superior returns for shareholders and owners: focus on driving long term, sustainable growth.

-       Targeting ~$125m in annual savings, including system fund, by 2020 for reinvestment to drive growth.

-       $200m exceptional cash costs to achieve the savings; $31m in 2017 with the majority of the remainder in 2018.

-       Given this investment to drive growth, no additional capital return will be paid in calendar year 2018.  IHG's commitment to return surplus funds to shareholders remains unchanged.

-       Ongoing disciplined approach to capital allocation; capex guidance of up to $350m gross per annum unchanged.

-      Growth initiatives expected to maintain future fee margin progression broadly in line with long term average (~135bps per annum).

 

IHG's New Strategic Initiatives

 

IHG has consistently executed its clearly defined strategy and has delivered market outperformance over the past 14 years, whilst returning some $13bn to shareholders.  To ensure we continue to outperform, we are today announcing a series of strategic initiatives that will enable us to redirect resources and focus on areas where we can enhance our proven business model, to allow us to deliver industry leading net rooms growth.

 

a.   Build and leverage scale

 

●    IHG has designed a new organisational structure, effective 1 January 2018, which redeploys our resources to leverage our scale and to accelerate our growth. There are three main changes:

 

1.   New regional operating structure

 

●    Directing our focus and effort on those markets that matter most, whilst leveraging best practices.

 

●    Americas and Greater China: remain largely unchanged, recognising their importance as IHG's largest markets with a continued focus on driving profitable system size expansion.

-       Americas Regional CEO: Elie Maalouf (US based).

-       Greater China Regional CEO: Jolyon Bulley (China based).

 

 

●     Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa (EMEAA): new region combining what was previously Europe and AMEA.

-       Leveraging scale across 72 countries to share best practice and upweight investment in those markets with highest growth potential.

-       Operating as four geographically-focused business units, empowered to deliver locally, whilst leveraging IHG's global systems and processes.

-       Clear focus on driving accelerated growth aligned to the most valuable market opportunities.

-       EMEAA Regional CEO: Kenneth Macpherson (UK based).

 

●     Information on IHG's regions:

 

Americas

Greater China

EMEAA

Market Size (rooms revenue)

~$190bn

~$50bn

~$200bn

Market Growth to 2025 (rooms revenue)1

~$90bn

~$30bn

~$120bn

% of market branded2

65%

58%

42%

IHG's share of total market

7%

4%

2%

IHG's share of active pipeline

13%

21%

7%

% of IHG's system

62%

13%

25%

% of IHG's pipeline

45%

29%

26%

% of IHG's profit

74%

6%

20%

Fee EBIT growth (2014-17)

18%

24%3

11%

Note: Comparables for 2016 and 2017 reflecting (i) this new regional reporting structure, (ii) the impact of IFRS 15, and (iii) the merger of the managed and franchised and regional cost lines for each region will be provided on 17 April 2018.  Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, CFO, will host a session to discuss these changes at 9.30 GMT the same day.  This will be held at Goldman Sachs, Rivercourt, 120 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2BE.  The event will also be webcast live. 

2.   Integrated Commercial and Technology organisation

 

●    B2B Sales, booking channels, revenue management integrated with technology to maximise revenue delivery.

●    Will enable us to increase the speed at which we deploy new products and services.

●    Will result in improved efficiency through removal of duplication across functions.

●    Chief Commercial & Technology Officer: Eric Pearson (US based).

 

 

3.   Global Marketing organisation

 

●    Brings together Brands, IHG Rewards Club and Marketing into one global function and strengthens our capabilities in these areas to drive agility and efficiency.

 

●    Creation of three distinct brand categories: mainstream; upscale; and luxury, to improve performance and accelerate growth.

 

●    Leverage shared services to maximise scale benefits and drive more effective marketing.

 

●    Chief Marketing Officer: Claire Bennett (US based).

 

b.   Strengthen Loyalty Programme

●     IHG Rewards Club is well positioned as an industry leading loyalty programme:

-       11% increase in members in 2017, up 34% over three years.

-       Delivers 42.5% of rooms revenues into our hotels (up 3.5%pts over three years).

 

●     We have taken significant steps to enhance our loyalty offer in recent years:

-       2015: Launched Spire Elite, a new top tier status, which now delivers one-quarter of our loyalty revenue.

-       2016: Launched Your Rate by IHG Rewards Club, our exclusive member pricing initiative. Drove 3.4%pts uplift in direct channel growth and 2.0%pt uplift in retail segment growth in the 12 months after launch.

-       2017: Launched numerous major partnerships e.g. Amazon Kindle, Fuel Rewards, OpenTable and Grubhub.

 

●     Looking ahead we will continue to innovate IHG Rewards Club to create a more personalised and differentiated offering and to further leverage loyalty partnerships.

 

c.   Enhance revenue delivery

 

●    IHG's revenue delivery enterprise supports 5,300+ hotels across ~100 countries and delivers:

-       76% of room revenues (up 5%pts over three years).

-       Digital (web and mobile revenue) is our largest channel and delivers 22% of room revenues, totalling $4.6bn; with mobile the fastest growing component, more than doubling its revenue over 3 years to >$2bn.

 

●    We have piloted IHG Concerto into >225 hotels across all regions:

-       Cloud based technology platform incorporating multiple capabilities into a seamless hotel management tool.

-       Initial functionality is IHG's new Guest Reservation System (developed in conjunction with Amadeus) and our proprietary revenue management solutions.

-       In the future, it will comprise an entire suite of hotel solutions including property management, sales & catering and point of sale systems.

-       On track to complete roll out end of 2018/beginning of 2019.

 

●    We will continue to innovate in the digital and technology space, focusing on initiatives we can scale and which make a meaningful impact to our guests. Recent examples include:

-       Mobile check-out: live in >3,000 US hotels. 90% of guests reported an improved checkout experience.

-       Alipay Integration: IHG is the first hotel company to have Alipay fully integrated into its app; 70% of our hotels in Greater China can now take payment via Alipay from within the app.

-       IHG Connect seamless Wi-Fi logon: Implemented or being installed in >3,000 hotels in the Americas and now scaling for global roll-out.  Driving internet Guest Love uplifts of ~5%pts.

 

 

d.   Evolve owner proposition

 

●     IHG's enterprise is designed to deliver an industry leading owner proposition; optimising owner returns is at the heart of our strategy:

 

-       High value brands:

       ■  Higher brand awareness and guest satisfaction, lower financing costs, scalable & flexible design solutions, turn-key procurement solutions for effective & efficient build out, design & engineering support.

 

-       Efficient costs of operation:

■  Leading operations support, hotel standard operating procedures, IHG Marketplace purchasing platform, industry leading suite of technology solutions, IHG Green Engage online sustainability tool.

 

-       High quality revenue generation:

■  Centrally negotiated OTA and travel agent commissions, higher proportion of direct revenues e.g. via Your Rate, online distribution and performance marketing, revenue management for hire, the power of IHG Rewards Club.

 

●     We are now enhancing and expanding this to unlock further growth:

 

-       Increasing investment in development resources aligned to our focus markets.

-       Increased owner support to facilitate faster hotel openings and enhanced owner relationships.

-       Greater China: building on the success of Holiday Inn Express Franchise Plus, we have now extended our franchise offer to our Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza brands in the region.  Four agreements to date, including a return to IHG's system for Holiday Inn Beijing Lido, which opened as our first ever hotel in Greater China in 1984.

-       Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants: evolving the owner proposition and operating model to further accelerate growth.

 

e.   Optimise our portfolio of brands for owners and guests

 

1.   Strengthening our existing brands

 

We have restructured our brand organisation into categories to maximise synergies & efficiencies and to drive performance and we are innovating all of our brands to ensure they stay fresh and relevant and continue to drive growth:

 

●     Mainstream; 551k rooms open (175k pipeline room), delivering $14bn rooms revenue in 2017:

-      Holiday Inn: modern, high impact new guest room and public area design; new food & beverage solutions, new brand identity and global marketing campaigns.

-      Holiday Inn Express: fresh new guest room design; complete overhaul of breakfast offering; new brand identity and global marketing campaigns.

-      Candlewood Suites & Staybridge Suites: comprehensive update to interior design over the next 18 months, increased investment in extended stay marketing.

 

●     Upscale: 129k rooms open (43k pipeline rooms), delivering $4bn rooms revenue in 2017:

-      Crowne Plaza: $200m Accelerate programme underway in the Americas to strengthen the brand. Working to transform the guest experience globally with new design features such as Plaza Workspace and WorkLife Room, new service philosophy and new food and beverage standards.

-      HUALUXE: the brand has been adapted and evolved to ensure it remains competitive, with less focus on food and beverage.  With 7 hotels open and 21 in the pipeline, it is now well positioned for future growth.

-      EVEN Hotels: expanding into new markets with the 1st signing of a multi-unit agreement to develop 10-15 hotels across Australia and New Zealand.  Greater China brand debut with three signings in 2017.

-      Hotel Indigo: expanding its footprint with highest openings for 5 years and accessing new neighbourhood locations, including the first signing for Japan and our fourth for London, located in Leicester Square.

 

●     Luxury: 79k rooms open (20k pipeline rooms), delivering $4bn rooms revenue in 2017:

-      InterContinental Hotels & Resorts: rolling out enhanced Club InterContinental Experience; new design style and visual identity guidelines; launched a luxury & lifestyle sales team dedicated to luxury B2B; multi-year global marketing campaign "Live the InterContinental Life" under way.

-      Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants: driving global growth - record year for US openings, with 1.3k rooms added.  Signings in Greater China and South East Asia, with several further deals in progress which will secure our presence for the brand in ten major markets around the world. Leveraging design and food and beverage best practices into IHG's network; Kimpton Karma fully integrated into IHG Rewards Club.

 

2.   Augment portfolio with new brands to match identified opportunities

 

We have grown our brand portfolio to 13 brands, totalling almost 800k rooms, with a further 244k rooms in the pipeline.  We are focused on broadening our portfolio of brands with a highly targeted, insight-driven approach to create the optimum mix of brands for both our owners and guests.  To do this, we take a rigorous approach to assessing and pursuing the potential for new brand opportunities:

 

-       We aim to tap into high value segments which have significant growth potential.

-       We ensure that the opportunity is very attractive for owners; and allows them to add material supply at high ROI.

-       We ensure that IHG is advantaged to win in the identified space, and that we are able to drive superior revenue delivery, at a premium price point.  

 

This approach has enabled us to identify new opportunities in each of our brand categories:

 

●     Mainstream:

-       ~$115bn global segment with ~$65bn growth potential to 2025.

-       Owners with new build opportunities looking for a streamlined, lower labour cost operating model with low risk, attractive returns and low cost of investment.

-       IHG is the clear global leader in the segment, with 16% of existing global market share and 26% of pipeline.

-       We launched avid hotels in the US in September 2017 and the results to date are exceeding our expectations:

  a.   75 signings to date, with first hotel due to open in Oklahoma City in the third quarter of 2018.

  b.   First signings announced in Canada and the brand is also being launched in Mexico.

  c.   Global launch of the brand is now being planned.

 

 

 

●     Upscale:

-       ~$40bn global segment with ~$20bn growth potential to 2025.

-       Existing hotel owners looking for access to low cost, high demand revenue delivery systems.

-       IHG is advantaged by its industry leading revenue management & reservation solutions, a strong B2B sales offer and powerful loyalty programme.

-       We will be launching an upscale conversion brand in 2018; initially focussed on our EMEAA region.

 

 

●     Luxury:

-       ~$60bn global segment with ~$35bn growth potential to 2025.

-       Owners with existing hotels and new build opportunities looking for a superior product that generates sizeable returns per asset in a superior real estate location.

-       IHG is advantaged as the largest global Luxury brand operator with InterContinental Hotels & Resorts.

-       We are creating a new "Luxury Division" to better leverage and enhance our heritage and expertise to redefine operational excellence in this segment.

-       Significant number of owners wanting to partner with IHG on another luxury brand, at a higher price point.

-       We will address this via the acquisition of small, asset light luxury brand(s) which we will incubate and grow.

 

Americas - Stronger US RevPAR performance; avid hotels' momentum accelerates

 

Comparable RevPAR increased 1.6% (Q4: up 3.5%), driven by 1.2% rate growth. US RevPAR was up 1.2% in the year, with 3.0% growth in the fourth quarter, which included the ongoing benefit from demand in hurricane impacted areas and a small favourable impact from the reversal of calendar shifts from the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter, Canada benefitted from strong corporate and group demand with RevPAR growth of 8.9%; whilst Mexico grew 2.5%, impacted by the previous quarter's earthquake.

 

Reported revenue increased 3% (CER 4%) and reported operating profit increased 2% (CER 3%), whilst underlying1 revenue and operating profit were up 4% and 3%, respectively.

 

Underlying1 franchise operating profit was up 1%, as incremental royalties from RevPAR and net rooms growth were partly offset by a delay in the recognition of an annual payroll tax credit, the impact of the previously disclosed Crowne Plaza Accelerate financial incentives, and the annualisation of our investment in the Americas development team.

 

Underlying1 managed operating profit was up 11%, but normalising for notional foreign exchange translation impacts in Venezuela, was up 2%. This was driven by 5% rooms growth and lower costs associated with our 20% interest in the InterContinental New York Barclay, offset by lower hotel termination fees and a small performance guarantee payment at one property.

 

Underlying1 owned revenue and operating profit increased 10% and 21% respectively due to North American inbound business to Holiday Inn Aruba and the ramp up of EVEN Hotels Brooklyn.

 

Regional overheads benefitted $2m year on year from lower than expected claims in our US healthcare programme (2017: $5m surplus, 2016: $3m surplus).

 

We opened 22k rooms (190 hotels), our highest level of hotel openings since 2010, with two thirds driven by our Holiday Inn Brand Family. As we continue to focus on a high-quality estate, we removed 12k rooms (86 hotels). We signed 37k rooms (365 hotels), including 16k Holiday Inn Express rooms, up 15% year on year. Momentum for avid hotels continues to be ahead of expectations, with 44 signings during 2017 and our first ground break in Oklahoma City which we expect to open in the third quarter of 2018. Since the end of 2017 we have signed a further 31 deals, including our first in Canada.

 

2018:

We continue to make progress with our $200m Crowne Plaza Accelerate investment plan to refresh the brand and enhance its performance. As previously disclosed, as part of this initiative we are providing financial incentives to owners that have successfully implemented the new brand hallmarks. These reduced fees by $2m in 2017, and in 2018 we expect the negative fee impact to total $7m (incremental $5m).

We expect to recognise the $4m payroll tax credit that was delayed from 2017, in early 2018 (this totalled $6m in 2016 and won't be repeated past 2018).

We do not expect our US healthcare programme to be in a surplus position again in 2018, which will result in a $5m increase to regional costs year on year.

 

 

Europe - Double digit profit growth driven by strong UK RevPAR and recovery in terror impacted markets

 

Comparable RevPAR increased 6.3% (Q4: up 5.6%) driven by rate up 3.4%. UK RevPAR growth of 4.5% in the year was ahead of the industry, with strong growth in both the Provinces (up 4.6%) and London (up 4.3%). Fourth quarter RevPAR in London was down 1.7%, due to strong comparables and lower US inbound demand. In Germany, RevPAR grew by 2.1% in the year and 1.0% in the fourth quarter due to more normalised trade fair activity relative to 2016. Recovery in markets previously impacted by terror attacks led to RevPAR growth in the year of 7.1% in France and double digit growth in Belgium and Turkey. Strong demand in Southern European markets led to double digit growth in the year.

 

Reported revenue increased 6% (6% CER) and reported operating profit increased 15% (13% CER).

 

On an underlying1 basis, revenue increased 10% and operating profit increased 16%, driven by strong trading, 3.0% rooms growth and effective cost control to maintain overheads in line with the prior year.

 

We opened 5k rooms (26 hotels) and signed 9k rooms (59 hotels), including the 74-room Hotel Indigo Venice - Sant Elena. In Germany, we opened a record 2k rooms (11 hotels), and signed 4k rooms (19 hotels), a fourth consecutive record year.

 

 

AMEA - Double digit rooms' growth; strong trading outside the Middle East

 

Comparable RevPAR increased 1.5% (Q4: up 2.6%), as occupancy gains of 1.7%pts offset rate declines of 0.9%. Outside of the Middle East, RevPAR was up 4.4%. In Australasia, RevPAR was up 5.8% benefitting from strong domestic travel, whilst South East Asia was up 5.5%, driven by international arrivals in Indonesia and Thailand. Trading conditions in the Middle East remained challenging, with RevPAR down 4.1%.

 

Total RevPAR declined 3.0% (Q4: down 4.5%) due to the increasing mix of new rooms opening in developing markets.

 

Reported revenue increased 3% (CER 5%) and reported operating profit increased by 6% (CER 10%).

 

On an underlying1 basis, revenue was up 5% and operating profit increased 12%, driven by 12.6% rooms growth and a 5% reduction in overheads.

 

We opened a record 11k rooms (26 hotels) in 2017. This included 3.5k rooms in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, the remaining proportion of the 5k room signing we announced in 2015, expected to generate ~$1m in annualised fees. We signed 13k rooms (63 hotels), including the rebranding of a portfolio of 14 properties (~2k rooms) in India to the Holiday Inn Express brand, and 1k rooms in Australia.

 

Greater China - Continued industry outperformance; record room openings

 

Comparable RevPAR increased 6.0% (Q4: up 7.3%) outperforming the Greater China market. In mainland China RevPAR was up 6.6% (Q4: up 6.7%), whilst Hong Kong and Macau were up 2.7% and 11.4%, respectively. RevPAR in mainland tier 1 cities increased 6.9%, benefitting from strong transient, corporate and meeting demand. Tier 2-4 cities benefitted from strong meeting demand and weak comparables in the second half of the year, as RevPAR grew 6.5%, principally driven by occupancy.

 

As we continued to increase our penetration in higher growth, lower RevPAR cities, full year total RevPAR was up 1.4%.

 

Reported revenue increased by 8% (CER 9%) and reported operating profit increased by 16% (CER 16%).

 

Underlying1 revenue increased by 9% and underlying operating profit increased by 16%, driven by strong trading in mainland China and 9% rooms growth as well as robust cost control as we continue to leverage the scale of the operational platform we have built in Greater China.

 

We opened 11k rooms (43 hotels), a record for the region, bringing total room count above the 100k rooms (>300 hotels) threshold for the first time. Holiday Inn Express also passed a significant milestone, with more than 100 hotels now open. Signings for the year totalled 24k rooms (118 hotels), our highest for the region in ten years.

 

We continue to see strong demand for our Franchise Plus offer for Holiday Inn Express, with full year signings of 54 hotels. In the fourth quarter, we expanded our franchise offering to include Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn, and have seen strong owner demand, including the signing of the 433-room Holiday Inn Beijing Lido.

 

 

Highly cash generative business with disciplined approach to cost control and capital allocation 

Fee margin growth through strategic cost management

●     Group fee margin of 50.4%, increased 1.6%pts (1.4%pts CER) due to our ongoing relentless focus on cost management.

●     Growth initiatives expected to maintain future fee margin progression broadly in line with long term average (~135bps per annum).

●     Reported central overheads were reduced by $18m, ($15m CER); benefitting from an increase in central revenues and the impact of our cost management programme, including the initial benefits of our group reorganisation.

 

Strong free cash flow generation fuelling investment

●     Free cash flow1 of $516m was broadly flat year on year, after adjusting for $95m received in 2016 on behalf of the system fund from the renegotiation of long term partnership agreements and $31m of exceptional cash costs in 2017 incurred in relation to the group wide efficiency programme (2016 free cash flow: $646m).

●     Net capital expenditure1 of $227m (2016: $185m) with $342m gross (2016: $241m). This comprised: $115m maintenance capex and key money; $85m gross recyclable investments; and $142m system funded capital investments; offset by $79m net proceeds from asset recycling and a $36m system fund depreciation and amortisation inflow via working capital.

●     Capex guidance unchanged at up to $350m gross, and $150m net, per annum into the medium term. 

●     $67m outflow relating to the initial system fund surplus spend down, driven by additional investment behind marketing, loyalty and technology. We expect to fully spend the remaining surplus in 2018; with $60m on marketing, loyalty and technology, and the balance included within the exceptional cash costs associated with the efficiency programme.

 

Efficient balance sheet provides flexibility

●     Financial position remains robust, with an on-going commitment to an investment grade credit rating.

●     Year-end net debt of $1,851m (including $231m finance lease on InterContinental Boston), up $345m on 2016 as strong free cash flow from operations was offset by: payment of the $404m special dividend in May and $189m in ordinary dividends; $227m net capital expenditure and $117m adverse impact from foreign exchange and other non-cash items. Net debt to EBITDA now stands at 2.1x (LTM).

 

Dividend growth demonstrates confidence in future growth prospects

●     Proposed 10.9% increase in the final dividend to 71.0¢, taking the total dividend for the year up 10.6%, reflecting IHG's confident outlook.

 

Foreign exchange

 

Cost benefits from the devaluation of sterling against the dollar were offset by revenue impacts of the strong dollar against a number of currencies, increasing reported profit for the year by $2m2.

Currency markets continue to be volatile; if the average exchange rate during January 2018 had existed throughout 2017, 2017 reported profit would have increased by a further $3m (with $2m of that in H1).

A full breakdown of constant currency vs. actual currency RevPAR by region is set out in Appendix 2.

 

Interest, tax and exceptional items

 

Interest:

Net financial expenses of $85m were lower than in 2016 ($87m) due to the impact of the weaker pound on translation of sterling interest expense and a reduction in the average interest rate payable on bond debt following the 2016 refinancing, offset by higher average net debt levels in 2017.

 

Tax:

●            Effective rate for 2017 was 30% (2016: 30%). The impact of US tax reform is expected to have a mid-to-high single digit percentage point benefit on our Group effective tax rate from 2018 onwards, taking our effective tax rate to the mid to low 20s percentage point range. 

●            The 2018 full year cash tax rate is expected to be reduced to the high single digit percentage point range due to tax payments made on account in 2017.  Although we may see some short-term volatility in the underlying cash tax rate thereafter, we expect the longer-term rate to more closely align with the Group P&L effective tax rate.

 

Exceptional operating items:

Before tax exceptional items total $4m (credit) and comprise: $73m gain on sale of our interest in Avendra; $15m charge related to the Kimpton integration, $18m of impairment charges related to the Barclay associate which owns InterContinental New York Barclay and $36m of IHG P&L costs incurred in relation to the group wide efficiency programme. The majority of the $116m exceptional tax credit relates to a $108m exceptional tax credit resulting from significant US tax reform, which will be realised in cash terms over a long period from 2018.

Appendix 1: RevPAR Movement Summary

 

Full Year 2017

 

Q4 2017

 

RevPAR

 

Rate

 

Occ.

 

RevPAR

 

Rate

 

Occ.

 

Group

 

2.7%

1.1%

1.1%pts

4.0%

2.0%

1.4%pts

Americas

 

1.6%

1.2%

0.3%pts

3.5%

2.1%

0.9%pts

Europe

 

6.3%

3.4%

2.0%pts

5.6%

3.3%

1.6%pts

AMEA

 

1.5%

(0.9)%

1.7%pts

2.6%

(0.1)%

2.0%pts

G. China

 

6.0%

0.4%

3.5%pts

7.3%

2.8%

2.9%pts

 

Appendix 2: Comparable RevPAR movement at constant exchange rates (CER) vs. actual exchange rates (AER)

Full Year 2017

 

Q4 2017

 

CER

 

AER

 

Difference

 

CER

 

AER

 

Difference

 

Group

 

2.7%

2.4%

0.3%pts

4.0%

5.7%

(1.7)%pts

Americas

 

1.6%

1.7%

(0.1)%pts

3.5%

3.9%

(0.4)%pts

Europe

 

6.3%

5.7%

0.6%pts

5.6%

13.1%

(7.5)%pts

AMEA

 

1.5%

0.5%

1.0%pts

2.6%

3.0%

(0.4)%pts

G. China

 

6.0%

4.6%

1.4%pts

7.3%

9.8%

(2.5)%pts

 

Appendix 3: Full Year System & Pipeline Summary (rooms)

System

 

Pipeline

 

Openings

 

Removals

 

Net

 

Total

 

YoY%

 

Signings

 

Total

 

Group

 

48,187

 

(17,247)

 

30,940

 

798,075

 

4.0%

 

83,481

 

244,146

 

Americas

 

21,615

 

(12,148)

 

9,467

 

497,460

 

1.9%

 

37,419

 

109,104

 

Europe

 

4,917

 

(1,571)

 

3,346

 

113,415

 

3.0%

 

9,241

 

25,988

 

AMEA

 

11,085

 

(1,475)

 

9,610

 

85,661

 

12.6%

 

12,620

 

37,370

 

G. China

 

10,570

 

(2,053)

 

8,517

 

101,539

 

9.2%

 

24,201

 

71,684

 

  

Appendix 4: Full Year financial headline

Operating Profit $m

 

Total

 

Americas

 

Europe

 

AMEA

 

G. China

 

Central

 

2017

 

2016

 

2017

 

2016

 

2017

 

2016

 

2017

 

2016

 

2017

 

2016

 

2017

 

2016

 

Franchised

 

707

693

606

600

85

78

14

12

2

3

-

 

-

 

Managed

 

255

239

65

64

26

22

91

89

73

64

-

 

-

 

Owned & leased

 

31

26

29

24

-

-

2

2

-

-

-

 

-

 

Regional overheads

 

(124)

(123)

(56)

(55)

(25)

(25)

(20)

(21)

(23)

(22)

-

 

-

 

Profit pre central overheads

 

869

835

644

633

86

75

87

82

52

45

-

 

-

 

Central overheads

 

(110)

(128)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

(110)

 

(128)

 

Operating profit before exceptional items

 

759

707

644

633

86

75

87

82

52

45

(110)

 

(128)

 

Exceptional items

 

4

(29)

37

(29)

(2)

-

(2)

-

-

-

(29)

 

-

 

Total operating profit

 

763

678

681

604

84

75

85

82

52

45

(139)

 

(128)

 

Total***

 

Americas

 

Europe

 

AMEA

 

G. China

 

Reported

 

Actual*

 

CER**

 

Actual*

 

CER**

 

Actual*

 

CER**

 

Actual*

 

CER**

 

Actual*

 

CER**

 

Growth/ (decline)

 

7%

 

8%

 

2%

 

3%

 

15%

 

13%

 

6%

 

10%

 

16%

 

16%

 

Underlying****

Total***

Americas

Europe

AMEA

G. China

Growth/ (decline)

8%

3%

16%

12%

16%

Exchange rates:

GBP:USD

EUR:USD

* US dollar actual currency

2017

0.78

0.89

** Translated at constant FY 2016 exchange rates1

2016

0.74

0.90

*** After central overheads

**** At CER and excluding: owned asset disposals, results from managed lease hotels and significant liquidated damages (see below for definitions) 1

1 For definition of non-GAAP measures and reconciliation to GAAP measures see the Business Review.

Appendix 6: Definitions

 

CER: constant exchange rates with FY 2016 exchange rates applied to FY 2017.

Comparable RevPAR: Revenue per available room for hotels that have traded for all of 2016 and 2017, reported at CER.

Fee revenue: Group revenue excluding owned and leased hotels, managed leases and significant liquidated damages.

Fee margin: adjusted for owned and leased hotels, managed leases and significant liquidated damages.

Managed lease hotels: properties structured for legal reasons as operating leases but with the same characteristics as management contracts

Americas: Revenue FY 2017 $34m; FY 2016 $34m; EBIT FY 2017 $nil, FY 2016 $nil. Europe: Revenue FY 2017 $77m; FY 2016 $77m; EBIT FY 2017 $0m, FY 2016 $2m. AMEA: Revenue FY 2017 $52m; FY 2016 $51m; EBIT FY 2017 $4m, FY 2016 $5m.

Significant liquidated damages: $nil in FY 2017; $nil in FY 2016.

Total gross revenue: total rooms revenue from franchised hotels and total hotel revenue from managed, owned and leased hotels. Other than owned and leased hotels, it is not revenue attributable to IHG, as it is derived mainly from hotels owned by third parties.

Total RevPAR: Revenue per available room including hotels that have opened or exited in either 2016 or 2017, reported at CER.

 

Appendix 7: Investor information for 2017 Final dividend

 

Ex-dividend date:

 

29 March 2018

 

Record date:

 

3 April 2018 

 

Payment date:

 

11 May 2018

 

Dividend payment:

 

ADRs: 71.0 cents per ADR; the corresponding amount in Pence Sterling per ordinary share will be announced on 23rd April 2018, calculated based on the average of the market exchange rates for the three working days commencing 18th April. A DRIP is available, allowing shareholders of ordinary shares to elect to reinvest their cash dividend by purchasing additional ordinary shares.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Investor Relations (Catherine Dolton):

 

+44 (0)1895 512 176

 

+44 (0)7527 419 431

 

Media Relations (Yasmin Diamond; Zoe Bird):

 

+44 (0)1895 512 097

 

+44 (0)7527 424 046

 

Presentation for Analysts and Shareholders:

A presentation of the results with Keith Barr, Chief Executive Officer and Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, Chief Financial Officer will commence at 9.30am on 20 February 2018 at Goldman Sachs, Rivercourt, 120 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2BE. The reception team will be issuing passes to pre-registered guests from 8:45am, and after the presentation there will be an opportunity to put your questions to the presenters.

 

There will be a live audio webcast of the results presentation on the web address:

 

http://www.investis-live.com/ihg/5a65e01cf10c5e0d00277ea0/ukhy.

 

The archived webcast of the presentation is expected to be on this website later on the day of the results and will remain on it for the foreseeable future.

 

There will also be a live listen only dial-in facility, details are below:

 

UK:

+44 (0) 203 936 2999

US:

+1 845 709 8568

All other locations:

+44 (0) 203 936 2999

Participant Access Code:

41 66 06

A replay will be available following the event, details are below:

 

UK:

+44 (0) 203 936 3001

US:

+1 845 709 8569

All other locations:

+44 (0) 203 936 3001

Replay pin

04 63 03

US conference call and Q&A:

 

There will be an additional conference call, primarily for US investors and analysts, with Keith Barr and Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, at 2.00pm (London time) 9.00am (New York time) on 20 February 2018.  There will be an opportunity to ask questions during a Q&A session.

Dial-in details as follows:

UK:

+44 (0) 203 936 2999

US:

+1 845 709 8568

All other locations:

+44 (0) 203 936 2999

Participant Access Code:

 15 88 24 

A replay of the 2.00pm conference call will be available following the event, details are below:

UK:

+44 (0) 203 936 3001

US:

+1 845 709 8569

All other locations:

+44 (0) 203 936 3001

Replay pin

39 96 35

Website:

The full release and supplementary data will be available on our website from 7:00am (London time) on 20th February.  The web address is www.ihgplc.com/prelims17.

 

Notes to Editors:

 

IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN® Hotels, HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations®, Holiday Inn Resort®, avid™ hotels, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites®.

 

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,300 hotels and nearly 800,000 guest rooms in almost 100 countries, with nearly 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG® Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.  

 

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 375,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally.

 

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihgplc.com/media and follow us on social media at: www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg and www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

 

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements:

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements as defined under United States law (Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) and otherwise.  These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts.  Forward-looking statements often use words such as 'anticipate', 'target', 'expect', 'estimate', 'intend', 'plan', 'goal', 'believe' or other words of similar meaning.  These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by InterContinental Hotels Group PLC's management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate.  By their nature, forward-looking statements are inherently predictive, speculative and involve risk and uncertainty.  There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by, such forward-looking statements.  The main factors that could affect the business and the financial results are described in the 'Risk Factors' section in the current InterContinental Hotels Group PLC's Annual report and Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

12 months ended 31 December

Group results

2017

2016

%

$m

$m

change

Revenue

Americas

1,025

993

3.2

Europe

241

227

6.2

AMEA

244

237

3.0

Greater China

126

117

7.7

Central

148

141

5.0

____

____

___

1,784

1,715

4.0

____

____

___

Operating profit before exceptional items

Americas

644

633

1.7

Europe

86

75

14.7

AMEA

87

82

6.1

Greater China

52

45

15.6

Central

(110)

(128)

14.1

___

____

___

759

707

7.4

Exceptional items

4

(29)

113.8

___

___

___

Operating profit

763

678

12.5

Net financial expenses

(85)

(87)

2.3

___

___

___

Profit before tax

678

591

14.7

___

___

___

Earnings per ordinary share

Basic

306.7¢

195.3¢

57.0

Adjusted

244.6¢

203.3¢

20.3

Average US dollar to sterling exchange rate

$1:£0.78

$1:£0.74

5.4

12 months ended 31 December

2017

2016

%

Group total gross revenuea

$bn

$bn

change

InterContinental

4.8

4.6

4.3

Kimpton

1.1

1.1

-

Crowne Plaza

4.3

4.1

4.9

Hotel Indigo

0.4

0.4

-

Holiday Inn

6.3

6.2

1.6

Holiday Inn Express

6.7

6.3

6.3

Staybridge Suites

0.9

0.8

12.5

Candlewood Suites

0.8

0.7

14.3

Other

0.4

0.3

33.3

____

____

____

Total

25.7

24.5

4.9

____

____

____

Hotels

Rooms

Global hotel and room count

at 31 December

 

2017

Change

over 2016

 

2017

Change

over 2016

Analysed by brand

InterContinental

 194

7

 65,998

2,348

Kimpton

 66

5

 12,516

1,278

HUALUXE

 7

3

 2,089

993

Crowne Plaza

 414

6

 114,800

997

Hotel Indigo

 85

10

 10,645

1,740

EVEN Hotels

 8

2

 1,238

228

Holiday Inn1

 1,242

1

 232,693

937

Holiday Inn Express

 2,600

103

 262,398

15,389

Staybridge Suites

 255

19

 27,745

2,135

Candlewood Suites

 376

14

 35,424

1,232

Other

101

4

32,529

3,663

____

____

______

_____

Total

5,348

174

798,075

30,940

____

____

______

_____

Analysed by ownership type

Franchised

4,433

112

 552,834

10,184

Managed

907

62

 242,883

20,810

Owned and leased

8

-

 2,358

(54)

____

____

______

_____

Total

5,348

174

798,075

30,940

____

____

______

_____

Hotels

Rooms

Global pipeline

at 31 December

 

2017

Change

over 2016

 

2017

Change

over 2016

Analysed by brand

InterContinental

 63

1

 17,353

(127)

Kimpton

 18

-

 2,796

(302)

HUALUXE

 21

(1)

 6,289

(667)

Crowne Plaza

 86

(4)

 23,047

(1,489)

Hotel Indigo

 82

7

 11,301

708

EVEN Hotels

 12

6

 2,110

1,330

Holiday Inn1

 277

16

 53,556

878

Holiday Inn Express

 766

90

 93,360

9,478

avid hotels

 44

44

 4,043

4,043

Staybridge Suites

 160

20

 17,941

2,620

Candlewood Suites

 112

4

 10,009

405

Other

14

2

2,341

(2,807)

____

____

______

_____

Total

1,655

185

244,146

14,070

____

____

______

_____

Analysed by ownership type

Franchised

1,223

184

 139,348

21,654

Managed

432

1

 104,798

(7,584)

____

____

______

_____

Total

1,655

185

244,146

14,070

____

____

______

_____

12 months ended 31 December

2017

2016

%

Americas results

$m

$m

change

Revenue

Franchised

703

685

2.6

Managed

172

172

-

Owned and leased

150

136

10.3

____

____

____

Total

1,025

993

3.2

____

____

____

Operating profit before exceptional items

Franchised

606

600

1.0

Managed

65

64

1.6

Owned and leased

29

24

20.8

Regional overheads

(56)

(55)

(1.8)

____

____

____

644

633

1.7

Exceptional items

37

(29)

227.6

____

____

____

Operating profit

681

604

12.7

____

____

____

 

 

Americas Comparable RevPAR movement on previous year

12 months ended

31 December

2017

Franchised

Crowne Plaza

1.9%

Holiday Inn

1.9%

Holiday Inn Express

1.7%

All brands

1.8%

Managed

InterContinental

(0.9)%

Kimpton

0.4%

Crowne Plaza

1.2%

Holiday Inn

0.0%

Staybridge Suites

(0.7)%

Candlewood Suites

0.4%

All brands

0.2%

Owned and leased

All brands

6.6%

Hotels

Rooms

Americas hotel and room count

at 31 December

 

2017

Change

over 2016

 

2017

Change

over 2016

Analysed by brand

InterContinental

 50

2

 17,578

1,170

Kimpton

 65

4

 12,242

1,004

Crowne Plaza

 156

(8)

 41,278

(2,838)

Hotel Indigo

 51

5

 6,828

896

EVEN Hotels

 8

2

 1,238

228

Holiday Inn1

 773

(1)

 135,604

(1,140)

Holiday Inn Express

 2,217

63

 199,410

7,039

Staybridge Suites

 244

18

 26,156

1,971

Candlewood Suites

 376

14

 35,424

1,232

Other

89

5

21,702

(95)

____

____

______

_____

Total

4,029

104

497,460

9,467

____

____

______

_____

Analysed by ownership type

Franchised

3,727

94

437,292

6,426

Managed

296

10

58,343

3,041

Owned and leased

6

-

1,825

-

____

____

______

_____

Total

4,029

104

497,460

9,467

____

____

______

_____

Hotels

Rooms

Americas pipeline

at 31 December

 

2017

Change

over 2016

 

2017

Change

over 2016

Analysed by brand

InterContinental

 7

-

 1,893

(639)

Kimpton

 14

(3)

 2,238

(711)

Crowne Plaza

 14

(3)

 2,719

(567)

Hotel Indigo

 33

1

 4,026

61

EVEN Hotels

 8

2

 1,114

334

Holiday Inn1

 128

-

 16,375

(929)

Holiday Inn Express

 524

36

 49,607

2,811

avid hotels

 44

44

 4,043

4,043

Staybridge Suites

 146

15

 15,432

1,536

Candlewood Suites

 112

4

 10,009

405

Other

12

1

1,648

309

____

____

______

_____

Total

1,042

97

109,104

6,653

____

____

______

_____

Analysed by ownership type

Franchised

1,002

105

 102,844

9,549

Managed

40

(8)

 6,260

(2,896)

____

____

______

_____

Total                

1,042

97

109,104

6,653

____

____

______

_____

12 months ended 31 December

2017

2016

%

Europe results

$m

$m

change

Revenue

Franchised

109

102

6.9

Managed

132

125

5.6

____

____

____

Total

241

227

6.2

____

____

____

Operating profit before exceptional items

Franchised

85

78

9.0

Managed

26

22

18.2

Regional overheads

(25)

(25)

-

____

____

____

86

75

14.7

Exceptional items

(2)

-

-

____

____

____

Operating profit

84

75

12.0

____

____

____

 

 

Europe comparable RevPAR movement on previous year

12 months ended

31 December

2017

Franchised

All brands

6.1%

Managed

All brands

7.2%

Hotels

Rooms

Europe hotel and room count

at 31 December

 

2017

Change

over 2016

 

2017

Change

over 2016

Analysed by brand

InterContinental

 32

1

 9,889

165

Kimpton

 1

1

 274

274

Crowne Plaza

 97

5

 22,477

1,590

Hotel Indigo

 24

3

 2,182

272

Holiday Inn1

 286

(5)

 46,928

(901)

Holiday Inn Express

 244

10

 30,508

1,930

Staybridge Suites

 7

-

 1,000

-

Other

 1

-

 157

16

____

____

______

_____

Total

692

15

113,415

3,346

____

____

______

_____

Analysed by ownership type

Franchised

636

7

 98,302

1,272

Managed

56

8

 15,113

2,074

____

____

______

_____

Total

692

15

113,415

3,346

____

____

______

_____

Hotels

Rooms

Europe pipeline

at 31 December

 

2017

Change

over 2016

 

2017

Change

over 2016

Analysed by brand

InterContinental

 5

(1)

 779

(34)

Kimpton

 1

-

 149

-

Crowne Plaza

 16

2

 3,199

14

Hotel Indigo

 20

2

 2,353

89

Holiday Inn

 38

4

 7,781

512

Holiday Inn Express

 67

9

 10,410

1,015

Staybridge Suites

 7

2

 921

284

Other

 1

1

 396

396

____

____

______

_____

Total

155

19

25,988

2,276

____

____

______

_____

Analysed by ownership type

Franchised

135

24

20,774

2,866

Managed

20

(5)

5,214

(590)

____

____

______

_____

Total

155

19

25,988

2,276

____

____

______

_____

12 months ended 31 December

2017

2016

%

AMEA results

$m

$m

change

Revenue

Franchised

17

16

6.3

Managed

193

184

4.9

Owned and leased

34

37

(8.1)

____

____

____

Total

244

237

3.0

____

____

____

Operating profit before exceptional items

Franchised

14

12

16.7

Managed

91

89

2.2

Owned and leased

2

2

-

Regional overheads

(20)

(21)

4.8

____

____

____

87

82

6.1

Exceptional items

(2)

-

-

____

____

____

Operating profit

85

82

3.7

____

____

____