Newspaper distributor Connect Group H1 profit up 20 pct

* H1 statutory pretax profit rises 20 pct to 22.1 mln stg

* Rev falls 0.7 pct to 898.7 mln stg

* Smiths News (LSE: NWS.L - news) division underlying operating profit rises 4.1 pct

* Cost savings help profit at Smiths News - CEO (Adds CEO and analyst comments, details, background, share movement)

By Noor Zainab Hussain

April 23 (Reuters) - Connect Group Plc, the largest newspaper and magazine distributor in the UK, reported a rise in first-half pretax profit, helped by a strong performance at its distribution and ecommerce businesses.

The company, which changed its name from Smiths News Plc on Tuesday, said statutory pretax profit rose 20 percent to 22.1 million pounds ($37.2 million) in the six months ended Feb. 28 from 18.4 million pounds a year earlier.

Revenue fell 0.7 percent to 898.7 million pounds.

"We continue to drive strong cost savings, 3.2 million pounds in the first half, and clearly that has allowed us to grow profits within Smiths News," Chief Executive Mark Cashmore told Reuters.

Revenue at Smiths News division - which accounts for more than 80 percent of total sales - fell 1.6 percent to 748.6 million pounds from a year earlier, while underlying operating profit rose 4.1 percent to 20.5 million pounds.

Connect Group (Brussels: CONN.BR - news) operates 48 centres across England and Wales, distributing over 3,000 magazine titles and 853 newspaper titles.

Revenue at its media supply business - Dawson Media Direct - rose 4.2 percent to 12.3 million pounds, while underlying operating profit rose 36 percent.

Dawson Media has an agreement to supply newspapers and magazines to British Airways for its long haul flights until May 2019.

The company's ecommerce division, Connect Education & Care, recorded a 2.5 percent rise in revenue at 31.2 million pounds, while profit increased 3.4 percent.

The division runs websites, www.westmerciasupplies.co.uk and

www.educationsupplies.co.uk, which sell products including stationery, curriculum resources and office equipment.

Connect's books division - which includes Bertrams, Dawson Books and Wordery brands - reported an 8.4 percent jump in revenue, but underlying operating profit fell 33.8 percent, due to lower margins and slower returns on investments.

The company said it remained in a strong position to build on the progress made in the first half, with acquisition opportunities in the pipeline, but did not divulge any details.

"Notwithstanding recent weakness at books (division), the management's acquisition record has been strong ... The acquisition pipeline is strong," Liberum analysts said in a note to clients.

Shares in the company were trading up 1.9 percent at 165 pence at 0852 GMT on the London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) . ($1 = 0.5944 British Pounds) (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)