News: CWN UPDATE 1-Australia's Crown Resorts posts flat H1 profit, VIP program turnover falls

(Adds background, details on VIP program)

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Australia's biggest casino operator, Crown Resorts Ltd (CWN) , said on Wednesday its half-year profit was little changed, hurt by weaker demand from high-stakes gamblers.

Normalised profit, adjusted to remove extraneous items, came in at A$194.1 million ($139.03 million) for the six months to Dec. 31, versus A$192.4 million in the same period the previous year, the company said in a statement.

The company said turnover from its high-roller-catering VIP program fell 12.2 percent over the six months.

Concerns over the stability of Chinese demand have arisen as a trade spat with the United States weighs on China's economy.

Crown's normalised revenue fell 1.2 percent to A$1.54 billion.

"Main floor gaming revenue increased by 0.9 percent, with modest revenue growth in Melbourne offset by continued softness in Perth. VIP program play turnover across Crown’s Australian resorts of $19.9 billion was down 12.2 percent after a soft November and December," Executive Chairman John Alexander said.

Crown has spent A$2.2 billion on a six-star hotel and casino project in Sydney to increase VIP turnover. The project is slated to be completed in the first half of 2021.

Crown's recent domestic push comes after its exodus from foreign markets over the past two years. The company had scrapped a decade-long global expansion after some of its staff were arrested in China for breaching gambling laws.

The company said the construction of the Crown Sydney Hotel Resort is progressing on schedule, slated for completion in the first half of calendar year 2021, with the total gross project cost expected to be about A$2.2 billion.

Crown declared an interim dividend of 30 cents per share, the same as last year.

($1 = 1.3961 Australian dollars)