By Keshav SinghChundawat and Sneha Kumar
Oct 27 (Reuters) - Star Entertainment closed 13% higher on Tuesday after the casino operator swung to profit for the first time in nearly a year, with strong performances at its Sydney and Gold Coast sites and cost-saving measures lifting first-quarter earnings.
Shares of the Australian firm closed at a three-week high of A$0.135, and had surged as much as 26.1% during the session.
• Star posted consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation
of A$12 million ($8.42 million) for the three-month period ended September 30, a turnaround from a loss of A$13 million in the year-ago period. The company last reported a profit in the second quarter of fiscal 2026
• Its Sydney and Gold Coast casinos generated more than 98% of first-quarter consolidated revenue, which rose 2% to A$284 million
• "We now expect to start building cash reserves in FY27, before non-operating items," said CEO Bruce Mathieson Jr, while the company reported A$239 million in cash and cash equivalents, as of September 30
• The investors treated the results as a relief but not a "clean bill of health," said Philip Deloughery, head of equities at MPC Markets
• Mathieson's statement is the first useful forward cash signal in a long time and stops the immediate "how long can they last" talk, Deloughery added
• The firm also reiterated that Sydney Casino's licence remains suspended and that the manager's appointment has been extended to June 30, 2027
($1 = 1.4249 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Keshav Singh Chundawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
