* Net loss of 707 mln hit by writedowns at sports, TV units

* Turnaround of sports business a priority this year-CEO

* Stable dividend of 1.30 euros for 2011 (Adds details)

By Leila Abboud and Gwénaëlle Barzic

PARIS, March 8 (Reuters) - French media-to-aerospace conglomerate Lagardere aims to keep its core operating profit stable this year after posting a steep net loss in 2011 triggered by write-downs at its fledgling sports unit and French pay-TV units.

The group posted a net loss of 707 million euros ($938.40 million) last year, dragged down by write-downs of 895 million euros, two-thirds of which came from its struggling sports rights and marketing business.

Its core operating profit fell 11.1 percent to 414 million euros on a constant currency basis, affected by slower book sales at its Hachette unit as the bestselling Twilight vampire series faded and a major U.S. bookseller Borders went bust.

This was at the low end of the company's outlook for a drop in core operating profit of 5-12 percent.

The company also proposed a dividend of 1.30 euros for 2011, which is the same level as 2010.

The results cap a tumultuous year for Lagardere in which it scaled back profit goals twice because of problems at the sports business and scrapped plans for an initial public offering of French pay-TV unit Canal+ after the Japan earthquake roiled markets.

On the positive side, Lagardere surprised investors in early 2011 when it sold its international magazine business to Hearst last year for $887 million.

Still, investors punished the shares last year sending them down roughly 30 percent, compared with a 10 percent decline in the European media index. About half that ground has been recovered since the beginning of January.

"We had a very disappointing 2011, which we are going to overcome bit by bit," acknowledged Chief Executive Arnaud Lagardere at an analyst conference on Thursday.

CRICKET RIGHTS FIGHT

The CEO said the group's priorities for the year would be improving the performance of the three main divisions--books, radio and magazine, and travel retail--while focusing on the turnaround of the sports division.

The sports division, which Lagardere has stitched together in recent years through nearly 1 billion euros of acquisitions, has yet to turn a profit. It was plagued by contract losses and execution problems last year, and its management was sacked in June.

It is also embroiled in a legal dispute over the rights to Indian cricket matches, requiring it to pay for rights that it can't collect any revenue on.

Lagardere's Chief Financial Officer Dominique d'Hinnin said the worst was behind the sports unit and that it aimed to achieve a 10 percent return on capital employed by 2015.

"We have a new management team. We are investing in new sales teams, and we will get the motor running again," he said.

For this year, Lagardere said its outlook for stable core operating profit is based on an assumption that advertising sales will be similar this year to last year.

Asked how ad sales were shaping up this year, d'Hinnin said January was slow but February showed signs of improvement, leading him to predict a decline of roughly 4 percent in the first quarter.

Lagardere shares closed up 4.78 percent to 23.77 euros per share on Thursday before the results publication, and are up more than 16 percent since the beginning of the year. ($1 = 0.7534 euros) (Reporting by Leila Abboud and Gwenaelle Barzic; Editing by Christian Plumb)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency