* Cyfrowy Polsat H1 results
* Due before market open at 0700 GMT on Thursday, Aug 20
* Net profit to fall 5 percent to 136 million zlotys ($46 million)
WARSAW, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Poland's top pay-TV provider Cyfrowy Polsat is expected to report a 5-percent drop of its net profit in the first half, as a weaker zloty and fierce competition hit margins, Reuters survey showed on Wednesday.
Cyfrowy -- controlled by Poland's richest man Zygmunt Solorz-Zak, who also owns TV broadcaster Polsat -- is seen reporting a six-month bottom line of 136 million zlotys ($46 million) with sales up by 25 percent to 656 million.
A Reuters poll of 11 analysts also showed second-quarter net profit fell 20 percent to 63 million zlotys with the top line up 17 percent to 324 million.
Analysts expect the company's FX-denominated content costs to rise due to a weak zloty, squeezing profitability. They also believe the second quarter was weak in terms of attracting new clients due to a usual seasonality.
Also, fierce competition between the operators and price incentives necessary to attract clients during the economic slowdown have cut into the operators' average revenue per user (ARPU).
Cyfrowy competes locally with the likes of Cyfra Plus, controlled by France's Vivendi, and the 'n' platform owned by Poland's sole-listed broadcaster TVN.
Analysts now await the company's plan, slated for the second half of 2009, to launch triple-play services in cooperation with wireless broadband operator Sferia.
The following table summarises analysts' forecasts for Cyfrowy Polsat:
(Figures in millions of zloty unless stated). ============================================================== company Net Profit EBIT EBITDA Sales ============================================================== Average 136 164 182 656 Median 137.4 164 181 664 Lowest 125 152.3 176 602 Highest 147.4 175.4 193 673 No. of f'cast 11 9 9 11 H1 2008 143 182 191 527 Forecasts provided by: DM BZ WBK, UniCredit, Citigroup, IDM SA, UBS, Raiffeisen, Deutsche Bank, Erste, DI BRE Banku, Ipopema, DM Millennium. ($1=2.971 Zloty) (Compiled by Adrian Krajewski; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)