Oil clogs up Wood growth

InterContinental cheques out

INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group’s investors will net a special dividend payout of $400million (£320million) after bumper bookings from tourists visiting the UK.

The Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza operator shrugged off a downturn in demand in Middle East markets owing to the weak oil price, and in France, Belgium and Turkey after terror attacks, as corporate business picked up in India and China.

Underlying annual operating profit jumped 9.5 per cent to $702million on 4.6 per cent higher revenue of $1.58billion. CEO Richard Solomons said: “The fundamentals for the hospitality industry remain compelling.” WOOD Group has predicted more pain from weak oil prices after profits plunged by more than a quarter last year.

Shares in the FTSE 250 energy services group fell 65p to 753p as annual operating profit slid by 28.4 per cent to $244million on 15.7 per cent lower revenue of $4.93billion. Spending by its exploration and production customers was down by more than 20 per cent for the second year in a row and Wood expects only a “modest” pick-up.

It added: “We are cautious on the near-term outlook for the group. The oil and gas market continues to present challenges.”