UPDATE 1-Nufarm H1 profit jumps on Europe, N.America growth

* H1 result beats forecasts, shares up 10 pct

* Europe, North America growth spurts

* Acquisitions on hold for a few months (Adds CEO, fund manager comments, details, share price)

MELBOURNE, March 31 - Australian farm-chemicals group Nufarm Ltd beat market forecasts for its first-half profit, with growth in Europe and North American proving stronger than expected, sending its shares up 10 percent.

Despite the strong result, the company stuck to its outlook for full-year profit growth of around 34 percent to A$220 million ($149 million), but analysts said that was probably conservative.

"They could have easily raised their guidance. But it's better to overachieve," said Simon Rutherford, a portfolio manager at Northward Capital.

Managing Director Doug Rathbone said North America and Europe would help drive the company's growth in the second half, bolstered by acquisitions last year, new products and sales to new sectors such as cotton growers.

"We've got to work hard to get there for the rest of the year, but we're very confident there's evidence and reasons we will," Rathbone told Reuters in an interview.

Nufarm's shares surged as high as A$11.39 after the result and ended up 9.7 percent at A$11.30, against a 0.6 percent fall in the broader market.

He said Nufarm was unlikely to chase acquisitions for the next few months, but did not rule out eyeing a piece of Dow Chemical Co's agricultural sciences unit, estimated to fetch between $5 billion and $7 billion.

"We'll hang around the hoop," Rathbone said, noting the whole business was far too big for Nufarm. "We're always interested in things that are accretive and work well for our business."

Nufarm said on Tuesday it was selling its 25 percent stake in a herbicides joint venture in Europe with Bayer CropScience , shutting a manufacturing plant in France, and instead would buy product directly from Bayer.

Rathbone declined to put any dollar figures on the deal as negotiations were just starting with French unions. Less than 30 jobs would be cut, he said. Savings would start coming through in the next financial year, he said.

Nufarm reported an 84 percent rise in net operating profit before one-offs to A$65.2 million for July-January, compared with an average of five broker forecasts around A$39 million.

Nufarm's earnings in previous years have typically been skewed 80 percent towards the second-half due to a heavier reliance on sales in Australia. This year, the second-half is likely to make up around 70 percent of earnings, Rathbone said. ($1=1.473 Australian Dollar)