Mitie posts fall in first-half operating profit

LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - British outsourcer Mitie reported a fall in operating profit in the first half of its fiscal year, as local government cuts weighed on demand for its healthcare division.

Mitie, which runs services from maintenance and cleaning to baggage screening at London's Heathrow airport, said operating profit fell 9.5 percent to 58.1 million pounds ($88 million)from 64.2 million a year earlier.

The company said on Monday it was confident it would deliver a good full-year performance, after securing 97 percent of budgeted revenue and with a order book of 8.5 billion pounds.

($1 = 0.6591 pounds) (Reporting by Li-mei Hoang, Editing by Paul Sandle)