BUZZ - Citi raises profit forecasts for Australia’s EVT after the company issues a positive first-quarter earnings update

October 25 - ** Citi raised its FY2027 net profit forecast for EVT Ltd EVT.AX by 14%, and also increased its forecasts for FY2028 and FY2029 by 2% each, after the company released a positive FY2027 Q1 performance update

** The entertainment and tourism company announced on Friday (link) that group EBITDA for FY2027 Q1 was 72.5 million Australian dollars, representing a 17% year-on-year increase on a normalized basis

** Citi said the company's entertainment segment Q1 EBITDA grew by 171%, far exceeding Visible Alpha's FY27 H1 consensus forecast of 41%

** Citi noted that although the EVT hotels division is expected to increase EBITDA by about 13 million Australian dollars in FY2027, its Q1 earnings were essentially flat, which was somewhat disappointing

** Citi added that asset disposals remain challenging, as rising interest rates, high construction costs, and continued weakness in property prices are putting pressure on the sale outlook for the 525 George Street property

** All five analysts rate the stock as “Buy” or higher; the median price target is 16.55 AUD—LSEG data

** As of the last trading day's close, the stock has gained 20.6% so far this year

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