Leisure group Hilton offered further encouraging signs from its hotels arm today but warned it was still too early to celebrate a full recovery.

The group, which also owns the Ladbrokes betting business, said profits in the six months to June 30 improved 72% to £189.7 million, with the figure from the 400-strong hotels estate ahead almost 20% to £67.1 million.

Hilton said the overall performance, which bettered City expectations, reflected a "steady recovery" for hotels and further strong growth at Ladbrokes, where profits rose 51% to £153.7 million after the introduction of more fixed odds betting terminals.

But, in the wake of three years of difficult trading - affected by external factors such as the Iraq war and the Sars virus - Hilton repeated earlier warnings that it would not be until next year that it would see a full recovery.

Thursday August 26, 2004