Hilton sees profits leap to £189.7m

HILTON Group has said the benefits of a recovery in the hotel sector are unlikely to be appear before next year, despite reporting a 72% rise in profits. The UK-based group – which covers non-US Hilton properties and the Ladbrokes gaming chain – reported a pre-tax profit of £189.7 million for the first six months 2004, up from £110.5 million last year.

Group chief executive David Michels said: "It is encouraging to report that hotels across most of our portfolio are now experiencing improvements in both business and leisure traffic, although it will not be before 2005 that rates react accordingly.”

Hotels turnover increased to £67.1 million, against £56.1 million for 2003.

Localised hotel division websites in the UK, Germany, Japan and Scandinavia launched last year saw internet bookings soar 116%.