UPDATE 2-Australia's Asciano cuts 2008 forecast, shares fall

(Adds forecast downgrade, analyst comment, updates shares)

By Miranda Maxwell

SYDNEY, March 3 (Reuters) - Asciano Group Ltd (AIO.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Australia's biggest port and rail operator, lowered its forecast earnings for the year due to problems delivering coal, as it reported a first-half loss on higher debt costs and a grain unit writedown.

The company, spun off by logistics group Toll Holdings Ltd (TOL.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) last June, cut its fiscal 2008 earnings forecast by 3 percent to between A$675 million ($631 million) and A$685 million before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) due to a A$20 million charge on its coal business.

After other significant items, reported EBITDA would be A$610-620 million, Asciano said.

The stock, which has fallen on concerns the company is burdened by too much debt as it tries to fully exit its grain business, dropped as much as 7.4 percent to A$4.60, compared with a high of A$11.64 soon after listing.

The first-half result included a A$140 million charge on staff redundancies and writedowns in the grain business, which Asciano said it expects to close.

"We're just trying to understand the writedowns and why they're different to December (company forecasts) and trying to get clarity on guidance ... and how big those writedowns are," said Cassandra Meagher, analyst at CommSec.

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