WRAPUP 1-European power companies post conflicting fortunes

* EDF posts 12 pct rise in H1 opg profit, keeps outlook

* Red Electrica's H1 opg profit advances 6.7 pct

* Centrica opg profit falls 5.3 pct in H1

* DJ Stoxx utilities index advances 1.2 pct

By Marie Maitre and Victoria Bryan

PARIS/LONDON, July 30 (Reuters) - European power producers and regulated energy grid operators reported conflicting fortunes on Thursday, against a backdrop of falling consumer demand for energy across the region.

The slide in demand from manufacturers, who are cutting production in response to the financial crisis, has resulted in consumption in Germany, Europe's largest economy and biggest power market, falling 6 percent in the first half.

In spite of the weakening demand, results showed some firms had fared worse than others, thanks in large part to the industry practice of selling most output one to three years before it is actually produced, using forward contracts.

Companies who sold power before the second half of last year were able to lock in record prices, while companies that sold part of their energy late were hit by sliding prices.

France's EDF, Europe's third-biggest utility, posted a bigger-than-expected 12 percent rise in first-half operating profit and maintained its earnings expectations helped by its power plants in France and in Britain. [ID:nLU711560]

However, British utility Centrica saw its first-half operating profit fall 5.3 percent as it missed the market peak and had to sell power and gas in Britain at prices hit by the financial crisis. [ID:nLU327363]

The British utility joins peers from Spain, Austria and Italy that failed to escape the double-whammy of rising commodity prices -- used to generate power -- and sagging end-user demand. [ID:nLS575258]

"Power plants in markets such as France or Britain with their production sold at past peak prices is what you want to have now," said Equity Strategy analyst Michael Schaefer.

"If you waited too long prices dropped and you're suffering, he added."

Elsewhere, the operator of the Spanish power grid, Red Electrica (REE.MC), raised operating profit 6.7 percent in the first six months of the year, demonstrating the stability of its state regulated business. [ID:nLU348455]

By 1511 GMT, EDF shares were up 5.3 percent to 34.84 euros and Red Electrica's 1.3 percent to 32.98 euros, while Centrica slid 3 percent to 224 pence. The DJ Stoxx utilities index .SX6P, which includes all three companies, was 1.7 percent higher.

The price for oil -- little used to produce power but an indicator for commodities such as coal and gas -- has rallied 42 percent in the second quarter, while power prices in Germany, a benchmark for the rest of Europe, dropped 32 percent.

In contrast to the fossil fuel-driven utilities, some providers of renewable energy reported thriving business, buoyed by state-supported prices for the power they produce and the need to cut carbon dioxide emissions. [ID:nL0715548]

EDF is the first of the Europe's largest utilities to report earnings, with Italy's Enel (ENEI.MI) set to follow on Friday.

E.ON (EONGn.DE) and RWE (RWEG.DE) plan to publish first-half results on Aug. 12 and Aug. 13, respectively, followed by GDF Suez on Aug. 27. (With additional reporting by Jonathan Gleave in Madrid; Writing by Peter Dinkloh in Frankfurt; editing by Simon Jessop)