UPDATE 1-Fugro 2007 operating profit up 54 pct

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AMSTERDAM, March 7 (Reuters) - Dutch engineering consultancy Fugro NV (FUGRc.AS) said on Friday its 2007 operating profit rose 54 percent as favourable market conditions resulted in high capacity utilisation.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) reached 324.8 million euros, compared with the 320 million euro average forecast in a Reuters survey of analysts.

Net profit was 216.2 million euros on revenue of 1.8 billion.

"The market conditions were very good for every business line, which resulted in a high utilisation of capacity at good rates," Fugro said in a statement.

The mid-cap company, which offers survey services to the oil and gas industry, said it expected further growth in revenue and net profit in 2008 under current market conditions.

"Due to the short-term nature of part of our projects, as in previous years, we will not be able to give a quantitative forecast for the entire year until August," Fugro said.

A major part of Fugro's turnover is generated by clients in the oil and gas sector, and analysts often regard the company's order book as a barometer for big oil and gas groups.

Fugro shares closed at 49.79 euros on Thursday. Shares have dropped 0.7 percent in the past six months, outperforming a 15 percent drop in the Amsterdam midcap index .AMX. (Reporting by Harro ten Wolde, editing by Will Waterman)