France's Nexity H1 profit down, cuts outlook

PARIS, July 30 (Reuters) - French property group Nexity (NEXI.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) posted lower first half profits on Wednesday and trimmed its outlook, as the effects of the credit crunch continue to impact the real estate sector.

First half operating profit fell 2 percent to 144.4 million euros ($225.1 million) while adjusted pre-tax profits fell 12 percent to 123.7 million euros.

Nexity said it was now targeting a 2008 net profit of around 200 million euros -- down from its previous target for a net profit of more than 240 million.

Nexity shares closed up 2.1 percent at 14.46 euros. French mutually-owned bank Groupe Caisse d'Epargne owns around 40 percent of Nexity.

(Reporting by Yann Le Guernigou and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by David Cowell)