UPDATE 1-Hornbeck Offshore Q2 misses Street view; raises outlook

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July 31 (Reuters) - Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc (HOS.N), which provides transportation services to oil companies, reported second-quarter earnings that missed analysts' expectations, hurt by softening demand in its tug and tank barge segment, but raised its 2008 profit outlook.

The company said softer demand was mainly due to high petroleum product inventory levels, resulting from weak consumer demand driven by record-high commodity prices.

U.S. oil prices averaged slightly less than $125 a barrel in the quarter, nearly double prices from a year earlier.

For the second quarter, the company reported net income of $25.5 million, or 94 cents a share, compared with $22.6 million, or 85 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.

The latest quarter included an after-tax gain of $1.3 million, or 5 cents a share, related to the sale of a vessel.

Analysts, on average, expected earnings of 95 cents a share, before any special items, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue rose to $104.5 million up from $75.1 million in the same quarter last year, mainly helped by contributions from an expanded new generation offshore supply vessels fleet.

For full-year 2008, Hornbeck expects earnings of $3.72 to $4.20 a share. It had earlier forecast earnings to be between $3.68 to $4.16 a share. Analysts are expecting 2008 earnings of $3.98 a share.

Shares of the company closed at $50.32 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Hezron Selvi in Bangalore; Editing by Bernard Orr)