Feb 16 (Reuters) - Belgium's Umicore on Friday forecast a decline in 2024 core profit after reporting a bigger-than-expected drop in its earnings for the second half of last year, hit by lower revenue for its rechargeable battery materials business.

The materials technology and recycling group sees adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of between 900 million and 950 million euros ($968 million and $1 billion) this year. Analysts were expecting 979 million in a poll by Vara Research.

Adjusted EBITDA fell 17.6% year-on-year to 453 million euros in the last six months of 2023, while analysts had expected a 14.9% drop.

Revenue in the energy and surface technologies division, which includes battery materials, fell nearly 26% to 479 million euros in the second half of the year, missing a consensus of 662 million euros. ($1 = 0.9295 euros) (Reporting by Nathan Vifflin and Gaëlle Sheehan in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)