* Q2 group profit 505 million crowns beats 541 million forecast
* Says financial position satisfactory
* Shares down 3 percent
(Adds analysts reactions, details, updates share price)
By Aasa Christine Stoltz and Axel Bugge
OSLO, July 17 (Reuters) - Norwegian insurer Storebrand posted a smaller-than-expected jump in second-quarter group profit, lifted by recovering financial markets, and said on Friday its financial position was robust.
The provider of pension, life and health insurance, banking and asset management in the Nordic region said group profit in the April-to-June quarter rose 162 percent to 505 million Norwegian crowns ($79 million).
The result lagged an average estimate of 541 million in a Reuters poll of analysts.
"The group's financial position is reassuring, and development in sales so far this year is good," Chief Executive Idar Kreutzer said, adding the company had delivered a "satisfactory result in a volatile market".
The share fell 3.01 percent to 29.00 crowns by 0950 GMT, giving it a market value of 13 billion crowns. The main index at the Oslo bourse was up 0.62 percent.
Storebrand said that it was pleased with its liquidity situation of 2 billion crowns -- enough to cover all maturities for two years.
"We have high hopes of being able to deliver a good result in Q3," Chief Financial Officer Odd Arild Grefstad told a presentation.
Grefstad said the company's asset management unit posted a gain of 33 million crowns in the quarter, down from 52 million in the same period of 2008.
But, he said because of accounting changes, there were 50 million crowns of gains from asset management so far this year that would be booked in the fourth quarter. He maintained a goal of gains for the unit of 240 million crowns for 2009.
ANALYSTS FAIRLY PLEASED
Analysts said the results were roughly in line with forecast, with one analyst calling it "fairly undramatic", and another said it was "OK overall".
"The results will not lead to any major changes in estimates or values," analyst Bengt Kirkoen at Fondsfinans said.
Analyst Jan Erik Gjerland at ABG Sundal Collier said underlying results were good, with an improvement in Sweden and a "nice development in Norway", but Storebrand's bank unit looked somewhat weaker.
The company said synergies from the 2007 acquisition of Swedish life insurer SPP were ahead of plan and the restructuring progressed as expected.
Storebrand said it implemented significant cost savings in the first half as part of planned cuts to improve results by 300 million crowns annually over three years.
The company said it made a number of adjustments to its capital structure and financing during the quarter, including issuing 550 million crowns in a five-year senior bond in the Norwegian market.
(Additional reporting by Joachim Dagenborg and Terje Solsvik; Editing by David Cowell and Jason Neely) ($1 = 6.401 Norwegian crowns)