A higher number of deaths in the second and third quarters have pushed up revenues at the UK's only listed funeral services provider Dignity plc (LON:DTY), it said.
Revenue for the 39 weeks to September 23 came in at £229.3mln against £227mln in the same period last year, it revealed.
The number of deaths was 434,000 in that time frame (2015: 446,000).
"Although as expected, the deaths in 2016 have been lower than the exceptional level seen in 2015, they have been higher than the group anticipated based on longer term trends," the FTSE 250 firm told the trading update.
Underlying operating profits in the third quarter were £1.8 million higher than the same period in 2015, it said, adding that it expects underlying operating profits to be slightly ahead of current market expectations for 2016.
Its expectations for 2017 and beyond remain positive and unchanged.
Shares added 1.67% to 2,673p.