CORRECTED - CORRECTED-Australia's Transurban H1 earnings rise 50 pct

(In final paragraph, corrects company name to Transurban from Transfield)

SYDNEY, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Australian toll road owner and operator Transurban Group Ltd (TCL.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a 50 percent rise in first-half earnings on Wednesday, helped by higher toll and fee revenues and a recent acquisition.

Transurban said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) on a statutory basis were A$298.1 million ($273.5 million), from A$198.9 million a year earlier.

Transurban, which last year acquired rival toll road operator Sydney Roads Group, said it would pay an interim distribution of 28 cents per stapled security, up 1.5 cents from a year ago.

It forecast a distribution of 58 cents per security for financial 2009.

Investors focus on the underlying earnings and distribution for companies such as Transurban because of the high depreciation rates on their assets.

Transurban has investments in assets in Australia and the United States, including major traffic arteries in Sydney and Melbourne, and the Capital Beltway project in the U.S. state of Virginia.

EBITDA including the contribution of individual assets in the proportion of Transurban's equity ownership at Dec. 31 increased 53 percent to A$349.4 million.

Transurban said it had refinanced A$1 billion of debt at competitive rates, and no further refinancing of existing facilities was required until June 2009.