* First-half net profit at 105.2 million euros
* Profit beats analysts' 58.4 million eur avg estimate (Adds details)
ATHENS, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Greece's second-largest refiner Motor Oil Hellas said on Wednesday its first-half net profit far exceeded analysts' estimates, on one-off gains and above-par refining margins.
Net profit dropped 3.8 percent year on year to 105.2 million euros ($150.6 million) as falling oil prices continued reducing the valuation of the company's oil inventories.
But the figure far exceeded analysts' average forecast of 58.4 million euros as the company booked a one-off gain of 19.1 million euros, mostly from the sale of an energy asset to Mytilineos Holdings.
Also, the company's refining margin reached 74.2 dollars per metric tonne, compared with an average 33.2 dollars per metric tonne for peers, Motor Oil said in a presentation.
Earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached 153.6 million euros in the first half, exceeding analysts' 112.9 million euro estimate.
Running one of the most technologically advanced refineries in southeast Europe, Motor Oil is highly dependent on refining margins for sophisticated middle-distillate products.
Motor Oil, which is controlled by Greece's Vardionoyiannis family, also runs petrol stations and is in talks to acquire the Greek petrol station network of Royal Dutch Shell.
The company's share price has gained 14 percent since the start of the year, underperforming a 40 percent advance in the Athens benchmark index.
Its shares trade at about 12 times estimated 2009 earnings, compared with about 14 for Hellenic Petroleum, Greece's top refiner, which has suffered less from a drop in refining margins, data from Reuters estimates showed. (Reporting by Harry Papachristou; Editing by Rupert Winchester and Jon Loades-Carter)