* Targets sales of 14 bln eur, improved profits in 2012

* Net debt down 4.5 pct to 12.65 bln eur in 2011 (Adds details)

By Elena Berton

PARIS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Eiffage, France's third-largest listed construction group, on Thursday reported an 11.6 percent slide in 2011 profits, but forecast stronger earnings this year due to rising sales and better margins at its public works unit.

"We expect an increase in operating and net profit for all our contracting units, slightly less dynamic traffic for the motorways compared with last year, but an overall sales progression," Chief Executive officer Pierre Berger told analysts.

The company, which competes against larger peers Vinci and Bouygues, will target sales of 14 billion euros this year, up 2.2 percent from 2011, Berger added.

But the profit of the concessions division - which builds and operates motorways and other large infrastructures - will be hit by the additional costs from the debt refinancing of Eiffarie, its joint venture with Australia's Macquarie.

Eiffarie, which controls APRR, Europe's fourth largest motorway group, this week refinanced its 3.5 billion euros debt.

Net profit in 2011 declined 11.6 percent to 205 million euros ($272.94 million), hit by restructuring and debt financing charges, missing a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S consensus forecast of 221 million.

The company has already reported that sales last year totalled 13.7 billion euros, in line with management guidance, and that the year-end order book was up 25 percent on the previous year.

The dividend for 2011 has been pegged at 1.20 euros.

Net debt declined 4.5 percent to 12.65 billion at the end of the year, the first decrease in two years.

Eiffage shares, which have lost around 40 percent of their value in the last year, closed at 25.41 euros before the publication of the earnings, giving the company a market capitalisation of 2.2 billion euros.

($1 = 0.7511 euros) (Reporting by Elena Berton; Additional reporting by Gilles Guillaume)

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