H1 net at Berlusconi's Fininvest down 19.5 pct

MILAN, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Fininvest SpA, the family holding company of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, posted a 19.5 percent drop in first-half net profit to 161 million euros ($212.3 million), hit by pay television investments.

Fininvest, which has the dominant stake in Italy's biggest private sector broadcaster Mediaset SpA (MS.MI), said in a statement on Tuesday that consolidated net revenues rose 3.6 percent to 3.24 billion euros.

Net profit was hurt by strategic investments and a drop in the results of some of Fininvest's companies.

Earnings before interest and tax dropped 7.9 percent compared with 2007 results that were boosted by one-off gains. They fell 4.6 percent on a like-for-like basis.

"Investments linked to the development of pay TV also have weighed on operating results," the statement said.

Fininvest's net financial position was a negative 988 million euros at the end of June, compared with a negative position of 597 million euros at the end of 2007. (Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Paul Bolding)