Australia's Tabcorp sees H1 profit up slightly

MELBOURNE, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (TAH.AX), Australia's top gaming group, expects its normalised first-half profit to be modestly ahead of the previous year if conditions do not change materially, the company said on Thursday. "There is considerable uncertainty and volatility in the global economic environment which makes it difficult to make predictions about future performance," Managing Director Elmer Funke Kupper said in remarks prepared for the company's annual meeting.

Tabcorp, which owns Sydney's Star City casino and Jupiter casino on the Gold Coast, has been hit by the state government of Victoria's plan to end its duopoly on gaming machines in the state, forcing the company to look for new avenues of growth.

Analysts on average expect Tabcorp's net profit before one-offs to fall 5 percent this year to A$498 million ($336 million), according to Reuters Estimates. (Reporting by Sonali Paul)