Australia's Event Hospitality rises on upbeat outlook, strong demand

EVT

21/02/2022 03:54

** Event Hospitality and Entertainment  EVT.AX  rises as
much as 5.2% to A$15.33, its highest since Jan 5
    ** Hospitality and entertainment provider reports https://www.evt.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Half-Year-Results-Announcement-2022.pdf
 1H22 profit of A$33.3 mln ($23.99 mln), a turnaround from loss
of A$60.2 mln last year on the back of strong performance from
entertainment unit
    ** Entertainment business benefited from "pent-up demand for
cinema experience" 
    ** 1H22 total revenue jumps 59.3% to A$468.4 mln; co expects
2H22 box office revenue to exceed last year's on strong demand
    ** Adds that it "desires to resume dividend payments" later
this year
    ** Citi says EVT remains "well-placed to benefit from the
reopening of the Australian economy", adding that group margins
could surprise on the upside in medium term
    ** EVT rises most since Jan 28; among top five pct gainers
in the ASX 200 benchmark index  .AXJO 
    ** Stock down 1.4% this year, as of last close, vs a 3%
decline in the ASX 200 benchmark index 


($1 = 1.3879 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru)
 ((Sameer.Manekar@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/sameer_manekar))