Feb 12 (Reuters) - Australia's Suncorp Group SUN.AX reported a 30.3% rise in its first-half cash earnings on Wednesday, citing a robust capital position with capacity for likely on-market buybacks.

The insurer said cash earnings were A$860 million ($541.37 million) for the six months ended December 31, compared with A$660 million posted a year earlier and the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$775.1 million.

($1 = 1.5886 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Sherin Sunny and Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)

((Sherin.Sunny@thomsonreuters.com;Himanshi.Akhand@thomsonreuters.com;))