Foster's H1 profit up 6 pct on Australia sales

MELBOURNE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Foster's Group Ltd (FGL.AX: Quote, Profile, Research), Australia's biggest alcoholic drinks company, posted a 6 percent rise in first-half net profit on Tuesday, as a strong performance in Australia and Europe offset currency-related declines in North America.

Foster's, the world's second-largest wine company, said net profit before one-offs for the six months to Dec. 31 rose to A$393.5 million ($361 million) from A$371.4 million.

That compared with market forecasts of A$384.5 million before one-offs, according to a Reuters survey of eight analysts, and was well below the the double-digit pace of recent years and the 22 percent rise in the six months to June 2007.

Net profit after tax and including items fell 28 percent to A$398.6 million.

Foster's mainstream beers have come under pressure as consumers switch to higher-margin premium beers, while its U.S. wine business is facing a slowdown in consumer spending and tough competition.

Foster's shares have fallen 10 percent this year compared with 12 percent for the broader market . They fell 5.3 percent last year when the market rallied 11.8 percent. ($1=A$1.09) (Reporting by Victoria Thieberger)