UPDATE 1-Basil Read says H1 profit down 32 pct

* Earnings hit by write down of assets

* Order book at 8.1 bln frand

* Actively pursuing growth both organic and acqusitive (Adds details, shares)

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 31 (Reuters) - South African construction group Basil Read (BSRJ.J) said first-half profit fell by nearly a third, hit by a write-down related to the acquisition of a rival.

The company said on Tuesday its headline earnings per share for the six months to end-June fell to 104.34 cents from 153.66 in the same period a year earlier.

Headline EPS is the main profit gauge in South Africa and strips out certain one-time items.

Basil Read said it booked a 10.3 million rand ($1.40 million) write-down related to the acquisition of rival TWP, which has been hurt by slow demand for construction projects from mining companies.

South African construction firms have weathered the global financial crisis better than many overseas rivals, due to projects related to the 2010 soccer World Cup and a hefty government infrastructure spending plan.

The group said in a statement its order book stood at 8.1 billion rand.

Shares in the company rose 1.8 percent to 11.66 rand by 1301 GMT, outperforming a 0.8 percent decline in the Johannesburg All-share index .JALSH.

Last week, Murray & Roberts (MURJ.J) reported a 50 percent fall in full-year earnings, hit by costs from completing Africa's first rapid rail network, but forecast a rebound this year.

Africa's biggest construction group by market value Aveng (AEGJ.J), expects its full-year earnings to fall by as much as 15 percent. [ID:nWEA3416] (Reporting by Gugulakhe Lourie; editing by David Dolan)