UPDATE 2-Australia's Incitec Pivot sees tough 2010

* Year net loss of A$179.9 mln after Dyno writedown

* Savings from Dyno pushed out to 2011

* Shuts two North American ammonium nitrate plants

* Shares jump 7 pct (Adds CEO, analyst comments, H2 underlying profit)

By Sonali Paul

MELBOURNE, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Incitec Pivot Ltd (IPL.AX), Australia's top fertiliser maker, expects a tough year ahead, with some gains in fertiliser demand and prices in Australia but a flat outlook for explosives in its key U.S. market.

It reported a year net loss on Monday, hit by a writedown on the Dyno Nobel explosives business it bought before the market crashed. Underlying profit in the second half slid 63 percent, as expected, as fertiliser and explosives demand and prices slumped.

Investors looked past the result and the group's reduced target for cost savings in 2010, and pushed its shares up nearly 7 percent, pinning their faith on a recovery after March.

"You can't expect these very, very difficult prices to continue. Some normality must return to the market eventually," said Gavin Duffy, an analyst at brokerage E.L.& C Baillieu.