Hotel operator Millennium Copthorne has announced a sharp rise in profits.

Reporting its first half figures, the group said pre-tax profits jumped by 64.6 per cent - from £30.5m in 2009 to £50.2m - during the six months to 30 June.

Kwek Leng Beng, chair, attributed the increases to improving trading conditions and the group's cost-cutting exercises.

"Improvements in revenue and profits were especially strong during the second quarter," he said.

"Recovery in profits demonstrates continuing and effective cost management discipline amidst better trading conditions.

Although the group recorded improvements in occupation levels across its portfolio, Beng added that the Asian market was doing particularly well.

"The biggest gains were seen in Singapore where RevPAR grew by a remarkable 49.1 per cent in the second quarter and by 33.3 per cent over the six months as a whole," he said.

"Double digit gains were also made in New York and Rest of Asia. The first half of the year represents good progress on recovering the ground lost after the financial crisis and recession of 2008/9.

"Although these figures are very strong, we are mindful of the considerable macro-economic uncertainty over the next twelve to eighteen months, especially in Europe and the US.

"We will therefore continue to be cautious in our approach, maintaining a tight rein on costs and testing very carefully our investment plans."