UPDATE 1-Redmond says to quit Australia's Echo after H1 profit edges up

(Recasts with quote, earnings details, background)

SYDNEY, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Echo Entertainment Group Ltd

EGP.AX chief executive officer John Redmond said he would retire just over a year after joining the struggling Australian casino operator, as it posted a slight pick-up in first-half underlying net profit.

The experienced U.S. casino executive said he would leave Echo in the second half of the 2014 fiscal year for personal reasons, having overseen a 34 percent slump in the company's share price as it lost a turf war in Sydney against powerful rival Crown Resorts Ltd CWN.AX .

Redmond, 55, will be replaced by Matt Bekier, the chief financial officer and executive director.

Echo shares lost more than 1 percent at the open on Wednesday and were down 0.4 percent at A$2.31 at 0014 GMT, after

the company said the first half was challenging with soft sentiment across major markets including Sydney and Brisbane.

Underlying net profit in the six months to the end of December, excluding significant items, rose 1.3 percent to A$71.5 million ($63.60 million), slightly above five analysts' forecasts of A$65.9 million, according to Reuters calculations.

Net profit was A$46.1 million compared with A$66.5 million the previous year, impacted by one-off expenses and a lower win rate in the VIP business.

"I believe the company is in much better shape today, which is reflected in our profit announcement to the market," Redmond, the former president and CEO of MGM Grand Resorts, said in a statement.

Echo, which counts Southeast Asia's biggest gaming group Genting Bhd among its major shareholders, has come under mounting pressure since it lost a battle last year to retain its the exclusive casino licence in Sydney.

Lawmakers agreed to grant a second gaming licence to Crown, controlled by Australian billionaire James Packer, which is planning to open a high-roller facility targeting wealthy Chinese gamblers on Sydney Harbour in 2019.

The fight has now shifted north to the Queensland state capital Brisbane, where Crown is planning to mount another challenge to Echo's exclusive gaming licence when the government invites tenders for a second casino development.

Echo has proposed to invest A$1.5 billion in its casinos in the state, including transforming the current Treasury Casino and hotel in Brisbane to a large-scale integrated resort precinct.

Crown, meanwhile, is drawing up plans to build a new A$1.5 billion casino, hotel and retail complex in the city.

Echo declined to discuss the bidding process for the Brisbane development.

($1 = 1.1242 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Maggie Lu Yueyang; Editing by Stephen Coates)

((maggie.luyueyang@thomsonreuters.com)(+61 2 93731819)(Reuters Messaging: maggie.luyueyang.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: AUSTRALIA ECHO/