CSL shares up on profit boost SHARES in blood products and vaccine supplier CSL are higher after the company reported a big lift in first half net profit and re-affirmed full year profit guidance.. CSL said net profit for the six months to December 31 of $US626.9 million ($611.58 million) was up 24.3 per cent from the prior corresponding period and above market expectations. Revenue rose 6.4 per cent to $US2.58 billion ($2.52 billion), CSL said today. The company has recently started reporting its results in US dollars. CSL chief executive Brian McNamee said it was a high-quality result underpinned by growth in sales in both established and emerging markets, and improvement in margins. Strong demand for immunoglobulin, used to treat infections and support the body's immune system, was also behind the result. "The entire organisation contributed to our success in the first half," Dr McNamee said during a conference call today. The market cheered the result, with CSL shares up 80 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $58.04 at 10.15am AEDT. CSL re-affirmed earnings guidance issued in November, when it flagged a 20 per cent rise in full year net profit - in constant currency terms - from $US1.02 billion ($995.07 million) in the prior corresponding period. Dr McNamee said global business conditions remained mixed, with Greece, Italy and Spain still struggling. "We are mindful of those markets and I think demand overall is not growing significantly in those countries," Dr McNamee said. Japan is another market where we haven't shown growth for some time. However, he said, CSL was well-placed for the rest of this financial year and for growth to continue, with northern Europe, emerging markets and the US "very good for us." Meanwhile, CSL said it intended to raise about $US300 million ($292.67 million) through a new US private placement facility during the second half of 2012/13. The funds would be used to repay existing debt, fund the company's capital management plan - including the current share buyback - and "general corporate purposes," CSL said. CSL declared an unfranked interim dividend of 50 US cents per share.