STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - SCA (>> Svenska Cellulosa AB SCA), Europe's biggest hygiene products maker, defended a costly promotional campaign which helped drag quarterly earnings below forecasts and said it would produce long-term value for the company.

SCA's personal care division, which makes baby nappies and adult incontinence care products under brands including Libero and Tena, missed second-quarter forecasts after initiatives such as mailing samples of incontinence diapers to all Swedish men above 55.

Chief Executive Jan Johansson had told Reuters in June SCA was stepping up investments in Europe to raise awareness and reduce the "shame factor" around adult diapers.

"We have accelerated very successfully the penetration and the growth of incontinence care during the quarter," he told a news conference on Thursday.

"If we can grow our market share, particularly grow the penetration which is still below 40 percent in mature markets, that will have a huge value for SCA."

Shares in SCA, whose rivals include Kimberly-Clark Corp (>> Kimberly Clark Corp) and Procter & Gamble Co (>> The Procter & Gamble Company), pared earlier losses to trade down 1.3 percent after the news conference.

SCA is global and European market leader in incontinence products and has made it a priority to grow that business in countries like China, with ageing populations, and in Europe.

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It sees scope to grow in Europe, notably by taking market share in the baby diaper segment, as Kimberly-Clark plans to quit much of the region, while for incontinence diapers SCA sees a vast potential market.

Quarterly operating profit before restructuring and other costs grew 2 percent from a year ago to 2.2 billion crowns ($328 million) against a forecast 2.3 billion in a Reuters poll.

Johansson told reporters SCA's tissue division would raise prices in the second half of 2013 after a rise in pulp prices weighed on second-quarter results.

Earnings were also hit by a downturn in forest products, which account for a fifth of turnover and where operating profit dived 42 percent to 250 million crowns before restructuring costs as demand kept falling for publication paper.

The Swedish firm has increased focus in recent years on tissues and baby and adult diapers, for which it sees good long-term growth, and has made a number of acquisitions and divestments to that effect.

SCA, which also banks on rising demand in emerging markets, said demand in its main market Europe was up somewhat for tissue and favourable for incontinence care products, but stable in western Europe for baby diapers.

Demand growth in emerging markets was good, it said, despite slowing economic growth in China. The International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast last week due to a slowdown in emerging economies such as China and protracted woes in Europe.

Savings across the group went according to plan, it said.

($1 = 6.5849 Swedish crowns)

(Editing by David Holmes)

By Anna Ringstrom and Johan Ahlander