UPDATE 1-Latchways FY profit down; raises dividend

* FY pretax profit 7.6 mln stg vs 8.3 mln stg

* Revenue down 8 pct to 33.9 mln stg

* Final dividend up 15 pct to 17.97p

(Adds details)

June 7 (Reuters) - Safety products and services firm Latchways Plc (LATC.L) reported an 8 percent decline in its full-year pretax profit, citing the recession in the UK commercial construction sector, but raised its dividend and said current orders were ahead of last year.

Latchways, which makes fall-protection systems for people working at heights, raised its final dividend by 15 percent to 17.97 pence, taking the total dividend to 25.78 pence.

The company, whose exports accounted for 66 percent of product revenues in the year, said it would increase its focus on overseas growth to offset the weakness in its UK market.

"The pipeline of prospects across Europe gives us confidence of renewed revenue growth in this market, while our newer product ranges continue to gain market share," said the company in a statement.

With many projects involving public financing, the company said it did not expect to see growth in its UK market for some time to come.

For the year ended March 31, the company reported a full-year pretax profit of 7.6 million pounds, compared with 8.3 million pounds from a year ago.

Revenue was down 8 percent to 33.9 million pounds.

Shares of Latchways closed at 680 pence on Friday on the London Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Juhi Arora in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)