The British group, home to the InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands, met forecasts on Tuesday with a 22 percent rise in 2010 profit, driven by demand from Asia, business travelers and a revamp of its Holiday Inn chain.

“Across the business and across the world we are seeing some solid growth,” finance director Richard Solomons said, adding an economic recovery that had started in Asia was now looking “very broad based.”

InterContinental, with over 4,500 hotels in more than 100 countries, said it would grow its estate by 3-5 percent a year from 2012, revamp its Crowne Plaza chain and also sell its flagship InterContinental New York Barclay hotel.

Its upbeat tone chimed with recent comment from rivals, including US groups Marriott on Monday and Starwood earlier this month.

But Shore Capital analyst Greg Johnson said the good news was already reflected in InterContinental’s share price, which has approximately trebled in value from lows in early 2009 and is nearing pre-recession highs seen in mid-2007.

InterContinental, which makes about two thirds of its profit in the US, said it made an operating profit of $444 million last year, compared with a forecast for $442 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Estimates.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key industry measure, was up 8.4 percent in January, following increases of 8 percent in the fourth quarter and 6.2 percent for the year.

Solomons declined to predict RevPAR growth for this year, but noted analysts’ forecasts for US growth of 6 percent.

“Signs are we will see that,” he said.

InterContinental said it planned to pay a full-year dividend of 48 US cents, up 16 percent on 2009.

It expects little growth in hotel rooms this year as the Holiday Inn upgrade is completed. The largest part of new hotel openings in its pipeline are in North America, although as a proportion of existing business, growth will be highest in Asia.

Solomons declined to say how much the group would spend on revamping Crowne Plaza, the world’s fourth-biggest upscale hotel brand, though he said it would be less than the $1 billion invested in Holiday Inn.

Analysts’ forecasts that the sale of InterContinenal New York Barclay could raise net proceeds of about $300-$350 million seemed reasonable, he said in a telephone interview.

The sale was likely to be completed in the second half of this year, and the group would look to invest the proceeds, although it would also consider buying back shares if it had excess cash, he added.

Solomons said InterContinental would look to sell flagship hotels in London, Paris and Hong Kong over time, but had no immediate plans to do so.