Citi ups profit estimates for Australia's EVT on positive first-quarter update
BUZZ-Citi ups profit estimates for Australia's EVT on positive first-quarter update ** Citi lifts FY27 NPAT forecast for EVT Ltd EVT.AX by 14%, and by 2% each for FY28 and FY29 respectively, following a positive 1Q27 update
** The entertainment and travel firm on Friday posted 1Q27 group EBITDA of A$72.5 million, up 17% from the prior comparable quarter, on a normalised basis
** Co's Entertainment business delivered quarterly EBITDA growth of 171%, tracking well ahead of the 1H27 Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 41%, says Citi
** EVT's Hotels division's broadly flat 1Q27 earnings were slightly disappointing, despite the additional ~A$13 million of EBITDA growth guided for FY27 - Citi
** Divestments remain challenging, with higher interest rates, elevated construction costs, and continued house price weakness weighing on the outlook for sale of its 525 George Street property, adds Citi
** All five analysts rate the stock "buy" or higher; their median PT is A$16.55 – LSEG data
** Stock up 20.6% this year as of last close
(Reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru
Editing by Nick Zieminski)