(Adds background on spending by Chinese gamblers, dividend, estimates)
August 21 (Reuters) - Australia's biggest casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd (CWN) on Wednesday posted a 4.7% decline in annual profit, hurt by lower spending by wealthy Chinese gamblers.
Chinese high-rollers have scaled back spending this year, reflecting the far-reaching effects of the long-running trade dispute between the United States and China, which has slowed growth in the world's second largest economy.
Revenue from "VIPs" - largely Chinese tourists on package holidays - fell 26.1%, compared with a 54.5% surge in the year-ago period.
Normalised net profit, which removes variance in win rates, fell to A$368.6 million ($249.73 million) for the year ended June 30, from A$386.8 million a year earlier.
Analysts expected profit to drop to A$369.8 million, according to Refinitiv data.
The company maintained its final dividend at 30 Australian cents per share.
($1 = 1.4760 Australian dollars)
(Adds background on spending by Chinese gamblers, dividend,...
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