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Adds strategic update in paragraph 2, CEO comment in paragraph 4

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Holiday Inn owner IHG IHG.L said it expected to return more than $1 billion to shareholders in 2024 on Tuesday, after posting better-than-expected annual room revenue and adjusted operating profit that exceeded $1 billion for the first time.

Chief Executive Elie Maalouf also laid out his strategy, and said the company is targeting high single-digit growth in fee revenue by increasing revenue per room and the number of hotels annually on average over the medium to long term.

The owner of the Crowne Plaza, Regent and Hualuxe hotel chains raised its final dividend by 10% to 104 cents and launched a new $800 million share buyback programme.

"The travel industry has attractive, long-term drivers of demand, and the strength of our brand portfolio and enterprise platform will continue to boost our RevPAR and system size growth," said Maalouf, who took over the top job last July after leading the group's largest region, the Americas, for about nine years.

IHG reported global revenue per available room, a key performance indicator for the hotel industry, of 16.1% year-on-year, compared with analysts average expectation of 15.7%.

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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