Business news in brief
Holiday Inn owner tumbles to loss
Intercontinental Hotels Group has revealed it slumped to a half-year loss after taking a “substantial” hit from the coronavirus crisis. The group reported a pre-tax loss of $275m (£210.5m) for the six months to 30 June compared with pre-tax profits of $375m a year earlier. IHG laid bare the impact of worldwide Covid-19 lockdowns and slumping demand, with global revenue per available room plunging 52 per cent in the first half – and by 75 per cent in the three months to the end of June. Its hotels worldwide were also just a quarter full in the second quarter. In the UK, its revenue per available room plummeted by 90 per cent in the second quarter as its hotels were forced to close. PA
Domino’s Pizza reveals sales surge
Fast food chain Domino’s Pizza has revealed half-year sales surged by 5.5 per cent in the UK and Ireland as demand for takeaways jumped during the coronavirus lockdown. But the group said underlying pre-tax profits dropped 4.6 per cent to £47.6m in the six months to 28 June after it was hit by £6.2m in costs for extra safety measures amid the pandemic. Domino’s switched off customer collection throughout the Covid-19 lockdown, seeing collections tumble 87 per cent in the second quarter, while deliveries surged 22 per cent. But it has since restarted collections as lockdown restrictions have eased and said trading in the first few weeks of the second half has been “encouraging”. PA
Prudential confirms plans to sell US business
Insurance giant Prudential has confirmed it will press ahead with plans to spin off its US business, Jackson, with a minority flotation in the first half of next year as it looks to focus on Asia and Africa. The group, which had been looking at other options due to the stock market turmoil caused by the coronavirus, said it would aim to fully offload the Michigan-based Jackson business “over time”. Prudential reported a 2 per cent fall in underlying operating profits to $2.5bn (£1.9bn) for the first half of 2020. Gross premiums earned fell 6 per cent to $19.8bn, but the group said it was a “resilient” performance amid the Covid-19 crisis. PA
Builder Bellway’s sales remain low in July
Bellway sold around 14 per cent fewer homes each week of July even as demand recovered from the depths of lockdown. The housebuilder said reservations averaged 140 each week in July, down from 162 last year. It is normally a quiet part of the year for Bellway, but is still 13.6 per cent lower than a year ago. The company has reopened all its sales outlets and, apart from those who are self-isolating, all staff are back to work and construction has restarted. Bellway completed 7,522 homes in the year ending 31 July, a drop of 31 per cent from the year before, as lockdown ate up precious time for the builder. PA
P&O extends suspension of cruises
The UK’s largest cruise line, P&O Cruises, has extended the suspension of sailings until at least 12 November. The company said this was due to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advising people to avoid cruises. P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said: “It is clear that whilst the guidance is in place it is not advisable for us to resume operations. As well as cancelling all cruises up until November 12 2020, we will, sadly, also be cancelling Aurora’s Caribbean and South America adventure and Arcadia’s world cruise.” PA