Despite market conditions, Six Continents Hotels has announced strong financial results and says it is in a 'resilient' position for the future. Overall, the company has reported that hotel profits rose by 13.6 per cent in the financial year to the end of September 2001, including the acquisition of Posthouse; excluding that acquisition, profits were up by 3.7 per cent. 'The company was particularly strengthened by two valuable acquisitions', commented Sir Ian Prosser, chair: 'These included the acquisition of the former Regent in Hong Kong which is now the Hotel Inter-Continental Hong Kong, giving the five-star brand a high-profile flagship hotel in this key city. 'The second key purchase of the year was the acquisition of the 79-strong UK Posthouse chain from Compass Group in April 2001. Sixty-one of these hotels have already been converted to Holiday Inn hotels.' Six Continents' reports that its Priority Club loyalty programme has grown by two million members to a total of 12.4 million. Tim Clarke, chief executive, said the company is extracting the benefits from recent investments, in particular the Allied Domecq and Posthouse properties; but added: 'We have consciously prepared for the downturn, conserving the bulk of our resources should potential opportunities arise that meet our rigorous criteria.'
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