UPDATE 1-EDP profit falls on one-offs, beats forecast

* Net profit falls to 479 mln euro on non-recurrent factors

* Operating profit edges up 1.6 pct

* Costs dip 2 pct (Adds CEO quotes, details on one-off gains)

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

Chief Executive Antonio Mexia said operating profit rose 1.6 percent said the company was resilient to the economic recession thanks to a large extent to its investment in wind power abroad.

"The growth comes essentially from the areas where we have been investing more, wind and hydroelectricity," he told reporters.

"We have a rise in the operating result, even in this challenging market. There is also a continued improvement in the company's efficiency," he said. EDP's operating costs fell 2 percent to 843 million euros.

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

Last year, EDP spun off its wind energy division EDPR (EDPR.LS). Along with other one-off gains, it pocketed an extra 482 million euros a year ago.

EDP said that excluding nonrecurrent items last year and this year, its net profit would have risen 7 percent to 505 million euros.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) edged up 1.6 percent to 1.61 billion euros.

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

EDP's power distribution in Portugal and Spain fell 3.1 percent in the first half, hit particularly hard by the economic downturn in Spain. [ID:nLH592980]. Power sales in Brazil also fell sharply.

But over 80 percent of EDP's EBITDA is protected by regulation or by long-term power purchasing agreements.

As for wind power, EDP's unit EDP Renewables (EDPR.LS) earlier this week posted a 32 percent rise in first-half net profit to 65 million euros after its power generation rose by a third, driven mainly by new U.S. capacity. [ID:nLS124802]

EDP stocks had closed just around 0.1 percent higher at 2.79 euros before the results were announced. (Reporting by Andrei Khalip, Sergio Goncalves and Shrikesh Laxmidas)