UPDATE 1-Latecoere open to all consolidation options

* New chairman says not excluding any consolidation option

* Outcome seen key for outsourcing of airliner production

* Shares up 0.5 percent

(Recasts after news conference)

By Tim Hepher

PARIS, Sep 1 (Reuters) - Latecoere (LAEP.PA)is not ruling out any option for consolidation to shore up its position in Europe's fragmented aerospace sector, the French fuselage maker said after recruiting a new chairman on Wednesday.

Debt-laden Latecoere named former French utility chief Pierre Gadonneix, 67, one of the leading figures in the country's business establishment, as its chairman to lead the search for a new industrial partner [ID:nLDE67U25H].

The move came as Latecoere, which makes passenger doors for the Boeing (BA.N) 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus (EAD.PA) A380, said it had just broken even in the first half as interest and currency charges eclipsed early signs of an aviation recovery.

Latecoere signed a debt restructuring deal with its banks in May and said its liquidity was assured until 2011 while it embarked on a search for industrial partners.

Gadonneix said he had held contacts with "more than one" potentially interested party, but declined to give detail.

He also declined to be drawn on whether Latecoere would be in the driving seat in any new combination of suppliers.

"We must not exclude any scenario," Gadonneix told a news conference, adding the company preferred a European solution.

Latecoere has a market value of just 50 million euros ($64 million) but its future could have important implications for outsourcing of plane projects such as Airbus's A350 mid-sized passenger jet.

Although he was recruited at the company's behest, Gadonneix said he had been in contact with government officials and his arrival was widely seen as a reminder of the importance attached to jobs and technology in France's aircraft sector.

The country's aerospace supply chain is already on merger watch, with state-controlled aero engine maker Safran (SAF.PA) trying to draw reluctant aircraft parts maker Zodiac (ZODC.PA) into a friendly takeover deal. [ID:nLDE67T1FR]

AIRBUS FACTORIES

Latecoere's biggest rival is U.S.-based Spirit AeroSystems (SPR.N), the world's largest aerostructures supplier and which was formed from a spin-off of Boeing's Wichita activities.

European planemaker Airbus was expected to have a critical influence over how its own supply chain evolves, having hived off some of its factories to separate units after failing to find buyers at the height of the credit crisis in 2008.

Executives hinted Latecoere's preferred option would be to revive plans to take control of two French Airbus factories temporarily held in a unit called Aerolia. Such a move would depend on bringing in new financial backing.

Talks between Latecoere and Airbus broke down in 2008 amid concerns over its balance sheet and the wider lack of credit.

Former Latecoere chairman Jean-Claude Chaussonnet, who will now serve as deputy to Gadonneix, said the logic of a tie-up with Aerolia had however not changed since the plan was shelved.

In France, Latecoere competes for aerostructure business mainly with Aerolia and Sogerma. Both are owned by Airbus parent EADS which is also Latecoere's largest single client.

Latecoere has been hit by delays in the A380 and Boeing 787, a business jet contract dispute with Dassault Aviation (AVMD.PA) and the relatively weak value of the dollar against the euro.

It posted a first-half net profit of 0.4 million euros, down from 9.7 million a year ago, and said net debt stood at 351 million euros at end-June.

Latecoere shares were up 0.5 percent at 1140 GMT. (Editing by Dan Lalor) ($1 = 0.7813 euro)