News: UPDATE 1-Australia's Downer EDI lifts guidance as first-half beats expectations

• Downer H1 net profit A$78 mln vs A$73 analysts
• Targeting full-yr profit of A$175 mln vs A$160 analysts
• Shares up 13 pct to 7-yr high

(Adds shares, dividends, forecasts)

SYDNEY, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Australian engineering contractor Downer EDI Ltd (DOW) on Thursday posted an 8.5 percent rise in interim net profit and upped its full-year guidance, sending its shares to a seven-year high.

Net profit came in at A$78.2 million ($59.27 million) for the six months to Dec. 31, the company said in a statement, beating analyst forecasts of A$73 million.

The company added that it is now targeting net profit of about A$175 million for the full financial year, a decline from the previous year's A$180 million result but better than the A$160 million forecast by analysts.

Downer is Australia's biggest non-government builder of roads, and also does construction and transport engineering work for miners and other large industrial clients.

The company's Sydney-listed shares were up 13 percent in early trading, hitting their highest intraday level since early 2010. The broader sharemarket was up 0.3 percent.

Sales rose 2 percent in the half-year period. The company declared an interim dividend of A$0.12, in line with the same period a year earlier.

($1 = 1.3194 Australian dollars)