2255 GMT - SkyCity Entertainment's FY26 result is better than it appears, suggests Forsyth Barr. SkyCity reported FY26 normalized Ebitda of NZ$182 million. That was near the bottom of guidance, which the casino operator had recently downgraded. "While the result appears underwhelming, we think the recent Middle East disruption and weaker discretionary spending mask a meaningful improvement in SkyCity's underlying business," says analyst Paul Laxton Koraua. Firstly, 2H Ebitda represented the first sequential rise in earnings since 1H23. Secondly, the sale of the Auckland office buildings and the Grand Hotel should reset debt below 2x Ebitda, Forsyth Barr says. Another positive: a heads of agreement has been reached on the Adelaide regulatory fine. It retains an outperform call on SkyCity, which is up 8.3% at NZ$0.655 today.