UPDATE 2-BAM posts 68 pct lower H1 profit, sees stabilisation

* Net profit down 68 percent

* Order book at 12.4 billion euros

* Sees some stabilisation in its markets

* Shares down 5 pct

(Adds detail, analyst comment, recasts)

By Greg Roumeliotis

AMSTERDAM, Aug 27 (Reuters) - A weaker property division pushed Dutch builder Royal BAM Group's (BAMN.AS) first-half net profit down 68 percent, sending its shares down, but it said it expected some stabilisation this year.

BAM, which like Dutch peer Heijmans (HEIJ.AS) has been hit by its exposure to the real estate market, said net profit fell to 41.9 million euros ($60 million) on revenue of 4.06 billion, down 4.1 percent.

The company's shares were down 5 percent at 0735 GMT.

BAM gave a detailed outlook for the whole of 2009, saying it expected a net profit of between 100 million euros and 120 million, on revenue of about 8.3 billion.

A Reuters poll of analysts showed they expect 2009 revenue to be 8.2 billion euros but projected net profit at 116 million euros, at the high end of BAM's outlook range.

In 2008 its net profit was 162 million euros.

"Overall some pluses and minuses; the property division performed worse than expected. but construction was better than anticipated," said Rabo Securities analyst Ralf Jacobs.

On a quarterly basis, BAM posted a 33.6 million euro net profit in the second quarter on revenues of 2.27 billion euros, slightly above the 31 million euro net profit and the 2.09 billion euro revenue estimate from analysts polled by Reuters.

Although the company foresees persistent uncertainties in all its sectors and countries, it said it expected a degree of stabilisation this year.

The company's order book stood at 12.4 billion euros the end of June at compared with 13.1 billion at the end of 2008.

BAM shares were at 7.55 euros in early Amsterdam trade, down 5 percent, compared with a 0.1 percent drop in the DJ Stoxx European Construction index .SXOE.

PROPERTY PAIN

BAM blamed its profit slump mainly on overhead costs and provisions in its property unit, which reported a 36.8 million euros pretax loss.

The company sold 715 homes in the first half of 2009, down from 1,600 homes sold last year, but said the Dutch housing market had slightly improved and expressed conviction that its property business will become profitable in due course.

BAM, which has a 21.5 percent stake in Dutch dredger Van Oord, also saw profits drop across the board in its construction, civil engineering, public-private partnerships (PPPs), mechanical and electrical contracting and consultancy and engineering divisions.

The Dutch construction firm noted that as governments have little room for manoeuvre in their budgets for infrastructure spending, demand for PPP contracts was continuing to grow.

BAM, which operates mainly in the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Germany and Britain, said 95 percent of its forecast revenue for 2009 was already in its order book. ($1=.6983 Euro) (Editing by David Holmes/Will Waterman)