* Slashes shareholder payout
* Says seeking acquisitions
* Sees tough conditions ahead
* Shares fall more than 4 percent, lag market
(Adds details, CEO, analyst comments, shares)
By Tiisetso Motsoeneng
JOHANNESBURG, March 2 (Reuters) - South African industrial conglomerate Bidvest forecast a tough second half on Monday as it slashed its payout to conserve cash after posting lower first-half profit, sending its shares lower.
The company, whose activities span auto retailing, food distribution and freight services, said it is looking for acquisitions in South Africa and mainland Europe to offset recession-induced losses in Britain, where it shut some units.
Bidvest cut its first-half distribution to shareholders, which includes a dividend and a share issue, by 13.6 percent to 190 cents, sending its shares 4.49 percent lower by 0954 GMT, lagging a slightly weaker Johannesburg Top-40 index.
"The market seems to be taking the news that they dropped their interim distribution negatively," said one Johannesburg-based analyst.
Bidvest posted a 8.9 percent fall to 454 cents in first-half headline earnings per share, in line with its own forecast, due to a 165.3 million rand ($16.69 million) expense as it closed or reorganised underperforming parts of its South African motor retail, UK-based food services and British logistics businesses.
Stripping out that expense, headline EPS -- a key profit gauge in South Africa -- would be 0.8 percent lower.
The company, one of South Africa's largest by revenue, said it expects trading to remain difficult in the second half, declining to give a detailed outlook, but said business so far this calendar year had been "pleasing".
"It's very volatile at the moment, it's difficult to see how these conditions would impact on profits, but trading since January has been pleasing," Brian Joffe, Bidvest's chief executive said in a telephone interview.
Joffe said Bidvest was looking for acquisition opportunities in Europe and closer to home.
"We like South Africa, without being specific we have identified one or two targets," said Joffe, adding internationally the company was looking at acquisitions in the food service sector.
Bidvest, which operates in some parts of Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific, also plans to list its Namibian operations by October this year, Joffe said.
The company is ready to invest in neighbouring Zimbabwe but is waiting to see if a new unity government manages to turn around the battered economy.
The firm, which makes about a quarter of its sales in Europe, said revenue rose 11.3 percent to 60 billion rand, boosted by market share gains in its South African food and services business and a strong performance in Asia Pacific.
Underperforming areas included its UK-based 3663 First for Foodservice unit, which has struggled as a recession forced many of the restaurants and pubs it supplies out of business. It closed its UK wholesale meat supplier Barton Meat Company.
Bidvest's South African motor retail arm is also under pressure due to slumping new vehicle sales. Bidvest, which imports low-cost Chinese-made vehicles, said it may close "one or two" vehicle showrooms in the next six months after closing 23 in the six months to end-December.
Industrial company Imperial, which competes with Bidvest in auto retailing, has also reported losses due to sliding new vehicle sales in Africa's biggest economy. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com) ($1=9.901 Rand) (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Andrew Macdonald)