Holiday Inn owner IHG has swung to a profit in the first half, buoyed by a jump in summer bookings - but scrapped its interim dividend to cut costs.
The company said operating profit for the six months ended 30 June stood at $138 million, compared to a loss of $233 million last year, while revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key performance indicator, was up 20%.
While availability of coronavirus vaccines and easing restrictions have helped the hospitality industry, the highly-contagious Delta variant is leading to some uncertainty as cases are rising again and the pace of inoculation is uneven globally.
The company said recovery was the most advanced in Greater China and leisure bookings continued to be strong in the United States, its biggest market.
IHG added that it was seeing a bounceback in business travel as well.
