Half-year operating profit before special items rose almost 20 percent on the year to 4.13 billion Danish crowns (506.92 million pounds), above a forecast of a 3.92 billion crowns seen in a Reuters poll.
The company maintained its 2017 outlook of mid-single-digit organic growth in operating profit, and said it now expects a positive impact from currency exchange of 50 million crowns versus a previous guidance for 300 million.
(This story corrects to first half of 2017 not second-quarter in first paragraph.)
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen)