Star Entertainment Group reports net profit increase of 15%

Net profit totalled A$194.4 million ($148.13 million) for the year to June 30, the company said, short of analyst expectations of about A$238 million. The company's shares fell 3 percent in early trade, underperforming the broader market.

Turnover from the "International VIP" unit, which involves selling tourist packages to high rollers in China and elsewhere in Asia, grew 7 percent to a record A$49.5 billion, although the win rate among VIP gamblers was higher than usual.

Profit grew because of "a combination of improved marketing, loyalty programme, sales activity, product offering and stronger macro-economic conditions", the company said in a statement.

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As a Chinese government crackdown ravages the casino industry in Macau, Star and larger Australian rival Crown Resorts Ltd are refurbishing and building new casinos in Australia's tourism hotspots to capitalise on the exodus of big-spending Chinese gamblers

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China provided the biggest boost in Australian visitor numbers in the year to June 30, official data said, up 22 percent, and now accounts for the most foreign tourists in Australia of any country apart from neighbouring New Zealand.

While Crown plans to build a A$2 billion casino near Star's flagship complex on the Sydney waterfront, Star has trained its attention on a new development in the country's No. 3 city Brisbane, 1,000 km (600 miles) closer to Asia and warmer.

The company said it planned to spend A$120 million on the Brisbane resort plus up to A$425 million more overhauling existing casinos in Sydney and the Gold Coast.

While Star's profit missed analyst expectations, the company said its "normalised" profit, which includes a calculation to standardise its win rate from year to year, jumped 23 percent to A$241.3 million.

The company declared a final dividend of 7.5 cents per share, up 25 percent on the previous year.