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* Core H1 profit 212.9 mln pounds vs year-ago 187.9 mln
* Emissions Control Technologies operating profit up 16 pct
* Process Technologies operating profit rises 17 percent
* Sees second half in line, excluding Anglo Platinum impact
* Shares climb over 3 percent
By Clara Ferreira-Marques
LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Catalyst maker Johnson Matthey beat its own expectations with a 13-percent rise inprofit, lifted by increased car and truck production globally,and tighter European rules on emissions due to come into forcein January.
The British speciality chemicals firm - the world's No. 1maker of catalysts to control car emissions - said underlyingfirst-half profit before tax totalled 212.9 million pounds($344.3 million), at the higher end of analyst expectations andoutperforming the group's own forecast, which had warned of theimpact of summer closures at European car plants.
Much of the jump came from its key Emission ControlTechnologies business, which accounts for more than half thegroup's sales and almost 40 percent of group operating profit.
Underlying operating profit in that division rose 16 percentin the six months to the end of September, thanks to growth insales across regions. That includes long-depressed Europe, wheresales of car catalysts outpaced vehicle production, and where itsaw increased demand for truck catalysts ahead of thelegislation - Euro VI.
Finance Director Robert MacLeod said the group had seencustomers for smaller trucks buying up cheaper Euro V trucksahead of the deadline, and buyers of larger vehicles coming inearly for Euro VI trucks, to benefit from fuel efficiency.
But the impact of "pre-buying" on sales in the second halfof the group's financial year was unclear, MacLeod said.
"We have had a pull forward of orders into this half, orthis calendar year, ahead of the new legislation," he said.
"No one really knows what is going to happen (in 2014). Thetruck fleet in Europe is pretty old too - are some of theseorders just getting the fleet back up to the right age?"
Analysts particularly welcomed the performance in Europe'scar market, where Johnson Matthey appeared to gain market share- beating a dip in production with a 9-percent rise in sales.
"There was a market share beat in the car business inEurope, and on the truck side... 25 percent of their sales wereEuro VI, where revenues are three times as high," analyst AdamCollins at Liberum in London said.
"There is some concern the pre-buy could result in next yearstarting softly, but in the overall scheme of things it doesn'tappear like it will be more than a quarter or so of transition,"he said.
Shares in the group were up 3.3 percent at 1040 GMT at 3,197pence, outperforming a 0.1 percent rise in the FTSE 100.
Johnson Matthey forecast a second half performance broadlyin line with the first six months of its financial year. Thatexcludes the impact of ending long-standing platinum buying andother arrangements with Anglo American Platinum in thenew year, which had included a discount.
Analysts said it could beat that outlook, thanks topre-buying into the coming months and higher margins from EuroVI.
FORMALDEHYDE BOOST
Other divisions also helped, with Process Technologies, thedivision which makes speciality catalysts, reporting sales up 15percent and underlying operating profit up 17 percent, helped bythe acquisition of formaldehyde producer Formox in March.Johnson Matthey's MacLeod said he expected the division couldsee more small-scale deals.
It forecast a second-half performance for the unit "slightlyahead" of the first half.
Precious Metals Products, which refines and recycles, sawcore profit climb by almost a quarter on the year-ago period,which had been hit by operational woes at its Salt Lake Cityrefinery, and by a relatively weak platinum price that held backvolumes at its precious metals refining arm.
Fine Chemicals, a division which makes active pharmaceuticalingredients for the pharmaceutical industry and which JohnsonMatthey has refocused, saw profit tick 1 percent higher, helpedby the sale of ingredients to treat drug addiction and attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
