Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) has reported a 5.4 percent rise in first quarter profits which it attributes to increased revenue per room in China and the US.

The hotel group is benefiting from rising demand in emerging markets such as in Greater China, which accounts for approximately 13 percent of group revenue.

Global revenue per available room was up 7 percent in the quarter.

Richard Solomons, chief executive of IHG, said: “We have delivered strong performance in the quarter with global revenue per available room (RevPAR) up 7% and continued outperformance in the US and Greater China. The strength of our brands and systems, together with our scale and the close working relationships we have with our hotel owners, continue to underpin our success.

“In the quarter we launched EVEN Hotels in the US and HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts in Greater China, reflecting our ability to create distinctive and innovative new brands. These will further develop our already strong position in our two largest markets over the long term, and together with our ongoing work to strengthen our existing brands, will enable us to deliver market share gains into the future.

“The global economic backdrop, particularly in Europe, is still challenging, but the considerable strengths of our business including our resilient model and strong balance sheet give us confidence that we will continue to drive high quality growth.”