InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has seen its revenue increase by 7% in 2024 to $2.3bn (£1.8bn), as the firm launched a new share buyback programme, valued at $900m (£714.1m).

The group, which includes brands such as Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Staybridge, saw its operating profit increase by 10% in the year to $1.1bn (£890m), with its fee margin increasing by 1.9 percentage points to 61.2%.

Furthermore, its earnings per share in 2024 increased by 15% year-on-year to 432.4 cents per share.

Chief executive officer at IHG Hotels and Resorts, Elie Maalouf, said: "Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our teams around the world, 2024 was an excellent year of financial performance, strong growth and important progress against a clear strategy that is unlocking the full potential of our business for all stakeholders.

"Strong demand globally from hotel owners and developers for our brands drove the opening of 371 hotels and an impressive 714 properties signed into our pipeline, equivalent to almost two a day. The 106,000 rooms signed were 34% more than the previous year. Our global estate now stands at over 6,600 hotels, and momentum continued into 2025 with the recent celebration of our 800th opening in Greater China. Our global pipeline increased +10% to over 2,200 hotels, representing future system size growth of 33%."

The firm has also launched a new share buyback programme for 2025, which it said, combined with ordinary dividend payment, would return over $1.1bn (£870m) to shareholders in 2025.

This follows an $800m (£634m) share buyback programme that took place through 2024 and $259m (£205.5m) of ordinary dividends paid to shareholders across the year.

In its outlook, IHG said that while some "geopolitical risk" and the economic outlook presents "challenges and uncertainties", overall conditions "remain positive for continued growth".

Investment director at AJ Bell, Russ Mould, concluded: "IHG’s full-year results didn’t garner a top rating from investors despite an increase in the dividend and the unveiling of a new share buyback.

"Currency headwinds, a continued weak showing from Chinese operations and a meaningful increase in net debt prompted profit taking after a strong run for the shares.

"There were some encouraging underlying signs for the business with revenue per available room – a key industry metric – showing signs of accelerating momentum across all geographies in the second half of the year and in the final three months of 2024."

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