* H1 EBIT up 50 percent, sales rise almost 4 percent
* Ups full year targets
* Cautions on Q4 visbility
(Adds CEO comment, detail, background)
FRANKFURT, Aug 31 (Reuters) - German media conglomerate Bertelsmann raised its outlook after a rebound in European advertising spending and cost cuts boosted first-half results.
"The economy and especially the advertising markets are friendlier," Chief Executive Hartmut Ostrowski said on Tuesday.
While he warned that visibility for the fourth quarter was still low, the owner of pan-European broadcaster RTL and publisher Random House said it now expects to see 2010 sales and operating profit increase, compared with its previous outlook for stable figures.
The company also said the 2010 net result would exceed 500 million euros ($636.1 million). Previously, it had targeted a range of 400 million to 500 million euros.
Bertelsmann, which celebrates its 175th anniversary this year, last year joined other media companies in cutting costs across all its units in the face of a steep decline in the global advertising market and is now reaping the benefits.
International media conglomerates such as News Corp and Time Warner reported strong earnings this month and said their results were also helped by cost cuts.
Last week, French competitor Lagardere raised its annual operating profit target, saying a recovery in the global advertising market had helped its publishing, radio and magazine businesses.
WPP, the world's largest ad firm by sales, also lifted its outlook after a strong performance from the United States and traditional media resulted in solid growth in the first seven months.
But it also warned that it was still seeing caution from major companies due to uncertainty in Europe about the impact of austerity measures, fiscal contagion from Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland and concerns over U.S. growth.
Bertelsmann said its growth was mainly fuelled by advertising-driven divisions RTL Group and publisher Gruner + Jahr, as well as by Random House, where the U.S. business and digital activities had shown particularly positive development.
Based in the sleepy town of Guetersloh, Bertelsmann's earnings before interest and taxes rose to 755 million euros in the first half from 497 million a year earlier. Sales were 7.36 billion euros, up 4 percent year-on-year, Bertelsmann said.
The company said group net income was 246 million euros compared with a year-earlier net loss of 333 million.
Net financial debt stood at 2.78 billion at the end of June, down by 800 million euros compared with a year earlier.
Bertelsmann has been controlled by the Mohn family for the past 100 years and has opted to remain private, going so far as to take on billions in added debt to buy out Belgian investor GBL and thus prevent its own public listing in 2006.
(Reporting by Nicola Leske)