UPDATE 3-Vodacom profit drops, cuts international spending

* Headline EPS down 12.4 pct

* Earnings hit by an impairment charge

* Mobile customer base up 16.5 pct

* Cuts capex by 33 pct at international operations (Adds analyst reaction, CEO comments))

By Tiisetso Motsoeneng

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Vodacom (VODJ.J), South Africa's biggest wireless phone operator, will slash spending by more than a third at its international operations after first-half profit fell more than 12 percent.

Vodacom, majority owned by Britain's Vodafone (VOD.L), said on Monday first-half profit fell 12.4 percent to 219 cents after taking a 3.2 billion rand writedown on an acquisition and gave a cautious outlook as the downturn hit consumer spending.

"The macroeconomic outlook is uncertain but we're seeing early signs of recovery, specifically in South Africa," said Pieter Uys, Vodacom chief executive. "(But) it is too soon to be confident in a sustained recovery across all customer segments."

Vodacom, which competes with MTN (MTNJ.J), will cut its international capital expenditure by 1 billion rand ($134.4 million) to 2 billion for the full year to end-March 2010 as revenue growth stalls, partciularly in Tanzania and the Demnocratic Republic of Congo.