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Italy's Leonardo core profit rises, orders fall

(adds revenues, forecasts, conference call)

MILAN, July 27 (Reuters) - Italian aerospace and defence company Leonardo said on Thursday its core profit rose in the first half although orders fell, as it had booked a multi-billion euro jet fighter contract a year earlier.

The state-controlled company is seeking market opportunities after a three-year restructuring kick-started by former chief executive Mauro Moretti, who streamlined operations and cut its debt by a third to 2.8 billion euros at the end of last year.

"The priority is to strengthen further our positioning in the international markets through a more effective commercial model," Chief Executive Alessandro Profumo, appointed in May to replace Moretti, said in a statement.

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The veteran banker is looking to seal more deals with higher spending countries in the Gulf and Far East (Kuala Lumpur: 5029.KL - news) , after years of government cuts to budgets for military equipment.

Leonardo's earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation in the first six months rose 2 percent to 482 million euros ($563.9 million), lifted by sales in aeronautics and electronics.

Orders came in at 5.06 billion euros, down from 12.9 billion euros a year earlier when the company booked a contract for 28 Eurofighter jets with Kuwait worth 8 billion euros. Stripping out the deal, first-half orders were 2.9 percent higher.

Leonardo's shares were 0.5 percent lower at 1358 GMT, underperforming the broader Italian index slightly.

The group said its order backlog ensured more than three years of equivalent production.

Revenue in the first six months was 5.33 billion euros, down 1.6 percent due to the negative impact of sterling volatility but in line with a Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU - news) estimate.

The defence conglomerate, which will hold a call with analysts on Friday, confirmed its 2017 forecasts for new orders of between 12-12.5 billion euros and revenue of 12 billion euros, in line with 2016. ($1 = 0.8548 euros) (Reporting by Giulia Segreti; editing by David Clarke)