* Metals firm sees H1 operating profit dive 77 percent
* Predicts H2 recurring op profit to stay at low levels of H1
* Says some signs of recovery
* Shares drop 10 percent
(Adds share price, analyst comment, detail)
By Antonia van de Velde
BRUSSELS, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Belgian metals and specialty materials maker Umicore surprised investors with a bleak outlook for the rest of the year after it reported a first-half profit that was worse than expected.
The company's prediction that the second half of the year would be no better than the very weak first six months surprised investors and sent its stock price tumbling 10 percent.
"In the second quarter of 2009, we saw an improvement (versus the first quarter), but not not enough to be able to talk about an upturn," said Chief Financial Officer Martine Verluyten. "The third quarter will be slow as usual."
At 0940 GMT, Umicore shares were down 9.9 percent at 17.3 euros, against a 3.2 percent drop for the DJ Stoxx Basic Resources index.
"The guidance is a negative surprise as we were forecasting a recurring EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) of around 119 million euros for 2009," KBC analyst Wim Hoste said in a note to clients.
The group did see an improvement in some businesses where destocking appeared to have run its course.
Umicore makes products for the car, electronics and construction industries, and has suffered from their rapid decline.
Its Precious Metals Products and Catalysts businesses have suffered badly.
But Verluyten said the market for rechargeable batteries would improve in the second half, while the construction and automobile industries, for which it makes car catalysts, were stabilising -- albeit at low levels.
The Precious Metals Products division would also be helped by restructuring carried out this year, Verluyten said.
Since the start of 2009. the group has cut 500 jobs out of a total of 10,000, excluding associated companies, primarily in Precious Metals Products. Verluyten said he could not exclude further job cuts later in the year.
First-half REBIT fell to 49.5 million euros ($71 million), below the 47 million euro average forecast found in a Reuters poll of analysts.
The group warned in April that it expected its recurring earnings before interest and taxes (REBIT) would drop to 50 million euros or below from 215 million euros in the first half of 2008.
Net debt fell to 239 million euros at the end of the first half of 2009 from 329 million euros at the end of 2008, the group said. ($1=.6954 Euro) (Reporting by Antonia van de Velde; editing by Simon Jessop and Karen Foster)