Australia's Billabong plans revamp as profit slides

MELBOURNE Aug 27 (Reuters) - Australian surfwear company Billabong International, which is fending off a A$694 million ($723 million) private equity bid, outlined a turnaround strategy on Monday as it posted a collapse in second-half profit.

Billabong said it planned to simplify its business to return to positive sales growth, although in the coming year challenging trading conditions would continue.

Second-half profit before one-off restructuring and other charges fell to A$2.4 million from A$62 million a year ago, based on Reuters calculations.

That compared with analyst forecasts of A$12.3 million, according to Reuters calculations.

Including charges, the full-year net result swung to a loss of $275.6 million from a profit of A$119.1 million.

Private equity firm TPG Capital made a fresh takeover bid for Billabong in July, just five months after its previous, higher offer was knocked back. Billabong has said the latest offer was too low.