The British electrical parts maker said it expected to report pretax profit of about 54 million pounds in the six months ending Sept. 30, compared with 31.3 million pounds a year earlier.

The company said it now expects underlying sales growth of around 2 percent in the first half, accelerating from the 1 percent growth it reported in the first quarter.

Electrocomponents, which distributes 500,000 products from 2,500 suppliers, said trading continued to be strong in the second quarter, driven by growth in North America and Asia Pacific.

North America and Asia Pacific accounted for 24 percent and 12 percent of the group's sales respectively in the year ended March 31.

Electrocomponents also said weakness in the sterling, which fell to its lowest in more than 30 years in July, would add about 7 million pounds to its first-half profit.

Broking firm Stifel reiterated its "buy" rating on the stock, citing management action that delivered a substantial improvement in operational performance.

The company's shares were up 14.7 percent at 346.3 pence at 0902 GMT on the London Stock Exchange, making them the second-largest gainers on the FTSE midcap index <.FTMC>

($1 = 0.7559 pounds)

(Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)