Crown Limited’s (ASX:CWN) full year net profit has dropped amid soft consumer sentiment, costs from its Macau joint venture and the loss incurred from exiting its investment in rival Echo Entertainment Group Limited (ASX:EGP).
The gaming company’s annual net profit fell 22.9 per cent to $396 million in fiscal 2013 but fell only 4.3 per cent when excluding significant items.
Over the year Crown sold its stake in Echo Entertainment, booked as a $70 million loss, and took a charge of about $26 million in refinancing and development costs.
Crown’s result comes one day after Echo Entertainment almost doubled its annual net profit to $85.3 million and revealed an upbeat start to the new financial year.
However, Crown beat Echo by scoring New South Wales government backing to advance its Barangaroo hotel and casino proposal last month.
A final dividend of 19 cents per share has been declared, bringing the full year payout to 37 cents per share.
