UPDATE 1-Imperial H1 headline EPS falls 4 pct, sees tough H2

* Operating profit slides 30 pct

* Sees no recovery in auto sales in near future

* Sees tougher H2

(Adds details)

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 25 (Reuters) - South Africa's Imperial Holdings (IPLJ.J> posted a 4 percent fall in first-half headline earnings per share on Wednesday, pressured by sliding sales in its key auto retail unit.

Headline EPS from continuing operations, a key profit measure in South Africa, fell to 432 cents in the six months to December from a previous restated 450 cents.

Imperial, whose activities span logistics, car rental and vehicle retailing, had forecast a range of between 405-445 cents in headline EPS.

The company declared an interim dividend of 80 cents per share. Revenue rose 2 percent to 28.6 billion rand ($2.84 billion), while operating profit fell 30 percent to 1.1 billion rand.

Imperial, which operates in selected parts of Africa, Europe, Scandinavia and Australia, said it expects the second half to be more difficult that the first half.

"Despite some positive factors in the second half of the year, we expect trading conditions to remain tough and we expect little or no uplift in used car sales and margins," the company said in a statement.

South African vehicle dealerships have been hit by falling sales as relatively high interest rates forces consumers to rein in spending, hitting car sales. Car makers are in talks with government over a rescue package to help limit job losses.

New car sales in Africa's biggest economy had their biggest fall in 24 years in January while the global downturn has also hit demand for exports.

(Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng)