* H1 EBIT down to 565 mln DKK vs 567 mln DKK expected
* Says wrenched free of difficult market conditions of H208
* Reiterates full-year sales guidance
* Shares down 0.6 pct vs 0.8 pct fall Danish bluechip index
(Adds CEO, analyst comment, shares)
By Teis Jensen
COPENHAGEN, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Danish hearing aid maker William Demant said on Wednesday it had "wrenched free" of difficult market conditions, kept its 2009 sales forecast and reported a first-half operating profit just shy of expectations.
Chief Executive Niels Jacobsen said the company had gained market share in most markets compared with the second half of 2008 and developments in the past half year were proof that it had "wrenched free" from tough conditions in 2008.
The company reiterated its 2009 guidance for revenue growth to exceed market growth by 2 to 4 percentage points, and it said it expected second-half group revenues and operating profits (EBIT) to be similar to the first half.
"Profits for the year after tax are therefore expected to show a double-digit percentage improvement," it said.
Rival GN Store Nord posted better-than-expected second-quarter results last week and said it expected to take market share in the hearing aid market, which it forecast would return to annual growth of 7 percent once the crisis is over.
William Demant, which competes with Swiss-based Sonova and German conglomerate Siemens, had a positive outlook due to its many product launches in 2009 and general cost restraint, Jacobsen said in a statement.
"We have improved our profit margin from 17.3 percent to 20.5 percent from the autumn until now, and we are very satisfied with that," Chief Executive Niels Jacobsen told Reuters.
Jyske Bank analyst Lars Paulsen said the margin was better than the market forecast of 20.2 percent and his own expectation of 20.3 percent.
Earnings before interest and tax fell to 565 million Danish crowns ($107 million) in January through June from 577 million in the first half of 2008, narrowly missing the mean forecast of 567 million in a Reuters poll of 15 analysts.
Six-month revenue rose 2 percent from the first half of last year to 2.75 billion crowns, missing analysts' mean forecast of 2.81 billion.
William Demant shares were down 0.6 percent at 325.5 crowns at 0922 GMT, compared with a 0.8 percent drop in the Copenhagen bourse blue-chip index. (Additional reporting by Rasmus Jorgensen; editing by Gilbert Kreijger) ($1=5.278 Danish Crown)