EDP H1 net profit falls 32 percent, beats forecast

LISBON, July 30 (Reuters) - Energias de Portugal (EDP.LS) posted on Thursday a 32 percent fall in first-half net profit, after power generation dipped and following a one-off gain a year earlier, but beat market forecasts.

Net profit reported by Portugal's main utility fell to 479 million euros ($675.1 million) compared with 445 million average in a Reuters poll of nine analysts.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) edged up 1.6 percent to 1.61 billion euros, while operating costs fell 2 percent to 843 million euros.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast, on average, EBITDA of around 1.6 million euros in the first half. (Reporting by Andrei Khalip)