UK's InterContinental Hotels 3Q profit falls

The company, which also owns the Crowne Plaza hotels, said that room bookings had remained relatively strong in the three months to Sept. 30 and that the drop in earnings to $91 million from $127 million reflected a number of one-time gains and losses over the comparative quarters.

In the year-earlier quarter, profits were boosted by $42 million of one-time tax credits and sales of the group's hotels. The current third quarter was hit by $33 million of one-off charges, including $15 million related to the relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand.

Revenue over the quarter rose 7 percent to $486 million from $453 million on the back of strong hotel room sales.

However, the company warned that profits for the fourth quarter were likely to drop sharply as consumers travel less and stay in fewer hotel rooms, sending its share price lower.

It said that in October--the first month of the fourth quarter--its sales performance began falling as the global economic slowdown hit potential customers' travel plans.

InterContinental said revenue per available room across the world dropped 4.5 percent in October, with the figure falling at an even sharper 5.7 percent in the United States.

"We expect the next few months to be down," chief executive Andrew Cosslett told journalists on a conference call.

InterContinental's fell 7.6 percent to 499 pence ($7.69) in London.