He said expansion would be through management contracts and franchises rather than building or buying new hotels.
Shares in the group rose 3.8 percent to 403 pence by 1320 GMT after M&C, which is just over 50 percent owned by Singapore's City Developments Ltd, announced a continued recovery in its Asian business in the fourth quarter and encouraging current trading for its 87 hotels world-wide.
Asian hotels suffered in 2003 as people cut back on travel during the Sars outbreak.
Revenue per available room in Asia rose 27 percent during 2004 to 34.23 pounds after occupancy rates rose 16.7 percentage points to 73.2 percent.
"We're seeing a very good beginning to the year in Asia," said Potter. "We've always maintained that real opportunity in Asia was to grow room rates."
Room rates in Asia were down 2 percent to 46.76 pounds.
"In London, we've had a very reasonable beginning to the year, and as far as continental Europe goes, it's begun as expected," said Potter. "As everyone knows, Germany and France is a tough market."
Underlying pretax profit for the year to December 31 was 55 million pounds ($104.1 million), more than double the 26.4 million pounds the group reported for 2003.
Revenue per available room rose 11.5 percent in London, 5 percent in continental Europe and 17 percent in New York.
Analysts at Credit Suisse First Boston said that outside New York the group had outperformed the US market by 8.5 percent in the fourth quarter.
"Tony Potter, on taking the CEO role, made clear that the US would be a key focus for him in his first year of tenure and we see these results as an endorsement of the work he is undertaking," they said in a research note.
Millennium & Copthorne Chairman Kwek Leng Beng said in a statement: "2004 was a pivotal year for the Group. We have finished with a significantly higher hotel operating performance and a substantial profit from asset disposals."
In the current year to February 14, overall revenues per available room were up 7.9 percent on the same period in 2004.