UPDATE 1-Aga says cooker sales slowed at year-end

LONDON Jan 14 (Reuters) - Upmarket British oven maker Aga Foodservice Group Plc (AGA.L) reported a slowdown in sales and said 2008 would be demanding as people deferred home improvement projects amid increasing pressure on consumers.

Aga said sales of its iconic cast iron cookers fell just short of the 20,000 in 2006.

"As the year progressed we saw people becoming a little bit more cautious. They are taking a little bit longer to turn interest into a project," Chief Executive William McGrath told reporters on Monday.

Citigroup Global Markets said in a research note the statement pointed to "weaker consumer demand having an impact on cast iron cooker sales in the UK and Ireland, and consumer refrigeration in the UK"

Aga said it expected a pretax profit of over 26 million pounds ($51 million) for the year ended Dec. 31, excluding its now sold foodservice operations.

At the end of 2007, Aga sold its commercial foodservice and bakery equipment business to Italy's Ali SpA for 260 million pounds in cash.

McGrath said the unit previously contributed 40 percent of the company's profit, and said the group would wait until its full results in March to give an indication of how the business's sale had affected Aga's year-on-year profit.

McGrath also said overall sales for the year were up, led by the company's Rangemaster business which posted revenue growth of close to 10 percent because of continuing export growth.

"This leaves open the debate on whether Aga can offset a weaker consumer market, especially in the UK," Citigroup said.

At 1010 GMT, shares in Aga, which last week reached a two-year low at 300 pence, were down 1.25 percent at 316.5p.

McGrath also said the group would raise prices in the spring as it had done in previous years.

The group will post its full year results on March 14. (Editing by David Cowell)