Aug 13 (Reuters) - Australia's Woodside Petroleum on Thursday slashed its interim dividend by more than a quarter, after reporting a 28% fall in first-half adjusted profit as coronavirus-led disruptions hammered fuel demand and prices.

Oil and gas companies have been among the hardest hit by the collapse in prices as the pandemic ravaged businesses, forcing firms to slash spending and defer projects.

"I would rate the external conditions created this year by the COVID-19 pandemic and oversupply in global oil and gas markets as the most difficult I've seen in nearly four decades in the industry," Chief Executive Peter Coleman said.

The country's top independent gas producer reported underlying net profit after tax of $303 million for the six months ended June 30, down from $419 million a year earlier.

It announced an interim dividend of 26 cents per share, down from 36 cents, missing analysts' consensus of 28 cents, according to Visible Alpha.

In July, Woodside said it would write down assets worth $4.37 billion after tax, joining energy majors including BP and Royal Dutch Shell that have slashed the value of their assets as energy prices weaken.

Including the impact of the write down, Woodside slid to a reported net loss after tax of $4.07 billion.

Still, the company said it was on track to meet its 2020 output forecast of 97 million to 103 million barrels of oil equivalent. (Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi and Shruti Sonal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Shinjini Ganguli)