Hochtief sticks to 2009 outlook, sees stable net

FRANKFURT, May 14 (Reuters) - Hochtief (HOTG.DE), Germany's largest builder, confirmed its 2009 outlook on Thursday, still expecting pretax and net profit to remain stable compared to 2008, while sales and new orders will decline.

First-quarter net income reached 24.2 million euros ($33.03 million), while new orders came in at 4.38 billion euros.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had on average expected new orders for the first quarter to come in at 4.079 billion euros, while net profit was seen at 23 million euros. [ID:LB279666]

"It is not the time to be announcing new records," Chief Executive Herbert Luetkestratkoetter said in a statement.

"But thanks to the strength and solidity of our business, we remain cautiously optimistic."

Earlier on Thursday, Hochtief's Leighton (LEI.AX) unit cut its full-year profit forecast by 10 percent due to a construction slump in Dubai and a property development downturn at home, sending its shares down 7 percent. [ID:nSYD462297]

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz)