PensionDanmark added an extra DKK218m (€29.3m) to its profit in the first six months of this year as a result of a large tax refund resulting from a recent court victory.

The amount was more than twice the minimum sum the pension fund had been expecting.

At the beginning of July, the Danish labour-market pension fund estimated it would get more than DKK100m in refunds from the Danish Customs and Tax Administration (SKAT), related to taxes withheld from foreign investments during the period from 2010 to 2014. The refund came as a result of a ruling from the National Tax Tribunal (Landsskatteretten) in its favour.

The case had been led by PensionDanmark and Industriens Pension on behalf of a number of Danish occupational pension funds.

In its interim report for the first half, PensionDanmark said the refund bumped its profit for the period up to DKK267m.

Ongoing pension premiums increased by 7% in the January-to-June period from the same period a year before to DKK6.8bn.

Increased prosperity and employment in the Danish economy had  driven the figure to an all-time high, the fund said.

Torben Möger Pedersen, PensionDanmark’s chief executive, said: ”Overall, the achieved results in the first six months are very satisfying with a growth in premiums and members, a good return on investment and some of the lowest costs in the industry.”

The return on investments rose to DKK8bn before tax in the first half, up from DKK3.8bn in the same period last year. This produced a 5% return before tax for scheme members aged 40, compared to 1.3% in the first half of 2016.

For members over 60, the return rose slightly to 3.3% from 3.2% a year ago, the pension fund reported.

Total assets grew to DKK224.1bn from DKK188.7bn at the end of June 2016, according to the half-year figures.

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