UPDATE 1-Nuclear reactor group Areva 1st-half sales rise

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PARIS, July 24 (Reuters) - French nuclear power reactor manufacturer Areva (CEPFi.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a 14.8 percent rise in first-half sales on Thursday as a global revival of nuclear power fed demand for nuclear reactors and uranium fuel.

Areva, whose activities range from uranium mining to waste material, said sales rose 16.4 percent on a like-for-like basis to 6.168 billion euros ($9.67 billion).

The state-controlled group, which has repeatedly rejected overtures by French heavy engineering group Alstom (ALSO.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to merge their businesses, also said it expects a strong increase in 2008 sales and backlog.

First-half revenue from reactors and services surged 27 percent to 1.466 billion euros, while the company's front-end business -- uranium mining and enrichment -- generated sales of 1.488 billion euros, up from 1.342 billion a year earlier.

Transmission and Distribution, the business bought from Alstom in 2004 that supplies systems to transform and deliver power, saw turnover rise 13 percent to 2.284 billion euros.

Areva said its total backlog stood at 38.1 billion euros as of June 30, up 13.6 percent year on year.

Rising oil prices and concerns about climate change have led many countries to search for cleaner alternatives, including nuclear power, to more polluting traditional sources of energy.

Areva, which is bidding to build nuclear reactors in Britain, the Middle East and South Africa, has said its aim is to increase sales to more than 20 billion euros by 2012 and to capture a third of nuclear reactor orders in the coming years.