* 2009 revenues seen at high end of earlier guidance
* Q2 net profit up 12.8 percent y/y at 116 million euros
* Margins strong and improving, despite tough market
(Adds details, dealer comment)
By Sophie Taylor
PARIS, July 23 (Reuters) - French oil engineering group Technip posted a surprise rise in second quarter profits on Thursday and gave an improved outlook for the year, bucking a trend of weak demand and profits in the oil services sector.
Technip said second-quarter net income rose 13 percent to 116.2 million euros, helped by fatter profit margins. A Reuters poll of five analysts gave an average forecast of 88 million euros.
Analysts had expected attempts by oil companies to cut costs in response to lower oil prices to eat into Technip's sales and margins.
"Analysts are going to have to significantly upgrade their earnings forecasts for this year and next on the back of this," one dealer said.
The result compares with big profit falls at rivals such as Norway's Acergy and U.S. firms Halliburton Co and Weatherford International.
Technip said it saw 2009 revenue coming in towards 6.4 billion euros, against an earlier indication of 6.1-6.4 billion euros.
Profit margins in its high-growth subsea engineering division, which supplies underwater pipelines and construction vessels, are now predicted to be at the top end of Technip's earlier disclosed range of 16-18 percent.
The sharp fall in oil prices from a record above $147/barrel a year ago has forced exploration and production companies to slash their spending.
Companies are ordering fewer rigs, new production facilities and other equipment and are pressing oil services companies to offer discounts on what they do buy.
Technip has been less impacted than many rivals because its business involves large engineering projects which cannot be quickly cancelled in bad times, or sanctioned in good times.
Nonetheless, its second-quarter order intake fell to 873 million euros, compared to 1.408 billion a year earlier, helping to cut its order backlog to 6.066 billion euros, versus 6.928 billion in the first quarter.
But Technip said a recovery in oil prices, and lower costs for some equipment and services was encouraging oil companies to open their wallets again and move ahead on projects.
"Our tendering activity has been increasing," the company said in a statement.
On Monday, the world's second-largest oil services company, Halliburton Co, said its second-quarter net profits were around half the level of the same period in 2008. Smaller rival, Weatherford International said profits fell 77 percent.
Acergy said last week that net profits fell to $76 million in the second quarter from $90 million in the same period a year earlier.
Technip's shares closed down 0.76 percent at 38.05 euros on Wednesday, compared to a broadly flat CAC 40 index.
(Additional reporting by Tom Bergin in London; editing by John Stonestreet)