Oct 23 (Reuters) - Europe's biggest hotel group Accor

upgraded its core profit guidance on Thursday and said

that it planned to buy back shares worth 100 million euros ($117

million) in the fourth quarter.

However, the operator of brands including Ibis and Novotel

reported quarterly revenues which narrowly missed market

expectations after its results were impacted by negative

currency movements.

Accor said that it now aims to grow its earnings before

interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by

11%-12% in 2025 based upon constant currency rates, compared to

previous guidance of between 9%-10%.

The hospitality sector has been experiencing economic and

geopolitical disruptions, with Accor pointing to security

concerns in Thailand and a sluggish recovery in China.

Accor's rival Hilton on Wednesday

trimmed

its revenue target over inflation worries among its U.S.

consumers, while peer IHG also

saw weaker performance

in the U.S.

Accor said it is committed to its expansion strategy

despite those risks.

"The volatility of the geopolitical situation does not

affect our development strategy", CFO Martine Gerow said on a

conference call, referring to the key Middle East region.

The company's third-quarter revenue fell by nearly 5%

year-on-year to 1.37 billion euros, slightly below the 1.4

billion forecast by analysts in a company-compiled consensus

Revenue per available room (RevPAR), one of the industry's

main performance indicators, was in line with the average

forecast of 0.8% growth.

"The group's profit protection measures are proving

effective... this is the rationale behind the launch of a new

share buyback program", Accor's Chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin

said in the statement.

The buyback comes on top of two completed tranches for total

value of 440 million euros.

The company also confirmed that it is considering listing

its lifestyle hotel brand Ennismore, adding only that, if the

potential listing materialises, Accor would remain its majority

shareholder. No further details were provided.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)