UPDATE 1-Australia's QBE FY profit dips; claims rose

* FY net drops 3.5 pct, beats market expectations

* maintains final dividend

* 'satisfactory, given financial crisis' - CEO (Adds detail)

SYDNEY, Feb 26 (Reuters) - QBE Insurance Group Ltd (QBE.AX), Australia's top insurer by premium income, posted a 3.5 percent drop in full-year net profit, dented by a large number of claims, but said it was well placed to consider acquisitions.

QBE spent A$2.7 billion on acquisitions last year, reducing its surplus capital, but this was still A$3.3 billion above a minimum requirement for A$4.6 billion, CEO Frank O'Halloran said in a statement.

Full-year net profit was A$1.86 billion ($1.21 billion), above an average projection for A$1.67 billion from 8 analysts.

O'Halloran said the result was "most satisfactory" given the financial crisis and and an increase in big individual risk and catastrophe claims.

"The substantial majority of our products and the 45 countries in which we operate continued to produce underwriting profits," he said, adding QBE was "well placed to consider further opportunities."

The result took into account net realised and unrealised losses on equities of A$554 million before tax, compared with previous gains of $100 million.

It recorded foreign exchange gains of A$409 million before tax and a profit of A$303 million before tax from the repurchase of some perpetual debt at a discount.

QBE maintained its final dividend at A$0.65 per share, taking the annual payout to A$1.26, up from A$1.22. (Reporting by James Regan, Editing by Ian Geoghegan)