UPDATE 2-New Finland charge hits Areva 2008 profits

* Areva makes new 749 mln euro provision on Finland reactor

* Reports 2008 net profit down 20 pct at 589 mln euros

* Sees sales growth, rising operating profit in 2009

* Plans 2.7 bln euro investments, 600 mln cost cuts in 2009

* Proposes dividend of 7.05 euros, up from 6.77 last year

(Adds details from news conference)

By Marie Maitre and Benjamin Mallet

PARIS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - France's Areva (CEPFi.PA) posted a 20 percent fall in 2008 net profit on Wednesday after booking a new 749 million euro charge linked to delays and cost overruns in the construction of a nuclear reactor in Finland.

The world's biggest maker of nuclear reactors also unveiled a 2.7 billion euro investment plan, which it said was approved by its majority shareholder, the French state.

"The plan has been approved, and I am sure that we will find the best funding solutions in the coming weeks," Chief Executive Anne Lauvergeon told a news conference.

In an interview with Reuters, Chief Financial Officer Alain-Pierre Raynaud said Areva preferred to raise its capital than sell minority stakes in groups like Total (TOTF.PA), Safran (SAF.PA) or Eramet (ERMT.PA).

Lauvergeon has been pressing hard for more funds to finance the company's business development and compete with rivals Westinghouse Electric, a unit of Japan's Toshiba (6502.T), and Atomenergoprom of Russia.

In 2007, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a review of Areva's future, but the government has so far announced no decision.

Areva, whose activities cover the full nuclear energy cycle from mining to waste, generated a fall in 2008 net income to 589 million euros ($757 million) from 743 million in 2007, while operating profit fell to 417 million euros from 751 million.

Operating margin fell to 3.2 percent from 6.1 percent in 2007, mainly due to the poor performance of Areva's Reactors and Services division.

Provisions for the Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) reactor that its Areva NP unit, owned 34 percent by Siemens (SIEGn.DE), is building in Finland again hit Areva's profitability.

The 1,650 megawatt reactor, the first to be constructed in Western Europe for more than a decade, has been delayed several times from its initial start-up target of 2009.

Finland's nuclear plant operator TVO, which is claiming compensation from Areva and Siemens for lost revenue and extra costs to the initially 3 billion euro project, said in October the project would be further delayed to 2012.

SHOWCASE PROJECT

Areva, which is also claiming compensation from TVO, was "very disappointed by TVO's inertia", Lauvergeon told a news conference, saying the operator was taking on average 12 months to validate technical documentation before passing it on to the Finnish nuclear security authority.

Areva estimated at 1.7 billion euros the loss on completion of the project, but this, Raynaud told Reuters, did not take into account compensation Areva may obtain from TVO, which could amount to "around 2 billion euros", he said.

The OL3 reactor is a showcase project for Areva, which is also involved in the construction of an EPR (Evolutionary Power Reactor) in France, and is eyeing new deals in countries such as Britain, India, Italy and the United States.

The business performance of Areva, which is nearly 80 percent owned by the French state, was also hurt by falling uranium prices, which led the group to suspend trading activities.

Areva confirmed its outlook for "backlog growth, revenue growth and rising operating income", and Raynaud reiterated the company's 2012 targets for sales above 20 billion euros and a double digit percentage operating margin.

Areva posted 2008 sales of 13.16 billion euros, up 10.4 percent year on year.

Areva proposed paying a dividend of 7.05 euros per listed investment certificate, up from 6.77 euros last year. Areva's investment certificates, which represent just over 4 percent of Areva's capital, closed at 314.38 euros on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, net debt surged to 5.499 billion euros from 4.003 billion euros, as Areva included a put option to buy back Siemens's (SIEGn.DE) stake in the Areva NP joint venture, which Siemens wants to leave.

Raynaud said negotiations with Siemens were going smoothly and predicted an agreement soon on price. He also said Areva wanted to regain 100 percent of Areva NP, and was therefore not looking for a new partner to replace Siemens.

For Areva CFO interview click on [ID:nWEA9123] ($1=.7780 Euro) (Reporting by Marie Maitre, editing by Marcel Michelson/Will Waterman)