SkyCity profit dips, misses estimates THE full-year profit for SkyCity Entertainment Group, which recently won increased gaming concessions in Auckland and Adelaide, has fallen eight per cent. It attributes the result, which misses estimates, to a flat result in New Zealand's biggest city and one-off benefits from the previous year which weren't repeated. Shares of SkyCity fell as much as 4.9 per cent to $NZ3.90 as soon as trading opened on the NZX, before recovering to $NZ3.94. Net profit fell to $NZ127 million ($A112.28 million) in the year ended June 30, from $NZ138.9m, a year earlier, the Auckland-based casino and hotel company said. Sales fell 0.3 per cent to about $NZ948m. Profit lagged behind First NZ Capital's forecast $NZ129.2m, while normalised profit, which strips out one-time items and other adjustments was $NZ136m, below the "about $NZ140 million" guidance SkyCity gave with its first-half results in February. Chief executive Nigel Morrison listed one-time factors that boosted profit a year earlier, including $NZ4.7m from the 2011 Rugby World Cup, the sale last December of its 50 per cent interest in the Christchurch Casino and a higher win rate in the second half of the latest year. In addition, he said, the benefits of strong growth in earnings from Darwin were eroded by the kiwi dollar's strength against its Australian counterpart. The biggest achievements of the past 12 months, winning legislative approval from the South Australian State Parliament to expand its Adelaide complex and increase its gaming platforms, and gaining buy-in from New Zealand's government for similar concessions in exchange for building an Auckland convention centre, won't show up for some years. Both deals, which extend the company's gaming licences, were effectively clinched in July, after balance date. Mr Morrison said the deals "will underpin the foundations of our long-term future growth." In Auckland, the company's biggest operation, normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell one per cent to $NZ210m. "It was always going to be challenging to outperform Auckland's 2012 result," Mr Morrison said. Darwin's revenue climbed 13 per cent to $A133.5m ($NZ152.62m) and Adelaide's was unchanged at $A160.4m ($NZ183.4m), which the company said was acceptable, "considering the economic climate in SA."