UPDATE 1-Thai Union Frozen Q2 profit soars; bullish for 2010

* Cost controls, lower tuna prices boost profits

* Sees 2009 net profit growth, aim is 3.0 bln baht in 2010 (Adds details, outlooks, analyst comment)

By Viparat Jantraprap and Saranya Suksomkij

BANGKOK, July 30 (Reuters) - Thai Union Frozen Products PCL TUF.BK, Asia's biggest canned tuna exporter, said on Thursday its second-quarter earnings more than doubled, beating forecasts, and it was bullish for next year.

TUF, which makes the "Chicken of the Sea" brand and counts WalMart (WMT.N) and Costco (COST.O) among its buyers, is aiming for a 10-12 percent rise in net profit for 2009 from 2.2 billion baht ($64.6 million) in 2008.

President Thiraphong Chansiri told reporters he expected net profit to reach 3.0 billion baht next year and said the company was on track to meet a target of $3.0 billion in revenue by 2012.

The company expected healthy gross margins for the year, with cost controls and lower raw tuna prices continuing to boost margins in the second half, when demand was traditionally high.

The company aimed for an average gross margin of 14-15 percent this year, up from 12.7 percent last year, and expected 16 percent in the second half, Thiraphong told reporters.

"It's a high season for businesses and demand is generally higher than the first half ... We are confident of net profit growth this year," he said.

TUNA PRICES RISING

But some analysts are worried about a rise in the price of raw tuna since June.

Siam City Research Institute expects the company's gross margin to fall to 13-14 percent in the third quarter.

"The second-quarter result was a record high for the company and was above our forecast," the broker said in a research note.

"The healthy 16.2 percent gross margin of the second quarter was because of falling tuna prices in April and May but they have turned higher since June to $1,450 per tonne," it said.

April-June net profit was 954.5 million baht, up from 403 million baht a year ago and above the average 849 million baht forecast by eight analysts polled by Reuters.

Six-month net profit rose to 1.61 billion baht from 981.4 million baht. The company will pay an interim dividend higher than the 0.56 baht it paid for the first half of last year, Thiraphong said.

The second-quarter results took into account the shutdown costs for a Samoan plant of about $10 million, which the company would continue to write off in succeeding quarters, he said.

It would spend 1.6 billion baht this year on unspecified investments and another 1 billion baht over the next two years to build a cold storage facility, he said.

TUF reported dollar-based revenue of $2.07 billion in 2008, with U.S. sales making up half, including revenue from three wholly owned U.S. firms and exports from Thai plants. It also exports to Japan, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Europe.

At 0833 GMT, Thai Union Frozen shares were up 3.4 percent at 25.75 baht while the benchmark stock index .SETI was up 0.12 percent. ($1=34.07 Baht) (Editing by Alan Raybould)