HALF-year accounts show Renishaw has increased company profits by 11 per cent.

The engineering company, based at New Mills, Wotton-under-Edge, has reported that profit after tax has risen to £12.1 million for the last six months of 2007.

This figure is up 11 per cent on same six months in 2006, where profit after tax reached £10.8 million.

The profit announcement came as Renishaw released its interim results for the half year ending December 31, 2007.

These profit figures mean earnings per share have gone up 11.4 per cent to 16.6p from the previous year's 14.9p.

Sir David McMurtry, chairman and chief executive of Renishaw, said: "As anticipated at the AGM last October, performance has continued to improve throughout the first six months with revenue increasing by five per cent to £91.6 million.

"Whilst performance has improved during the first half, we still expect continuing and improved performance in the second half, aided by resumed orders from a major Japanese customer for its own export sales, growing orders for new products, especially the REVO (a measuring device) and the current weakness of the sterling."

Renishaw employs more than 2,100 people worldwide, including 1,000 at its New Mills headquarters and 600 at other factories in Old Town Wotton, Woodchester, and its new state of the art facility in Stonehouse, which opened last year.

Renishaw also boasts 20 subsidiary companies across the globe.

The company is classed a world leader in metrology, the science of measurement, and Mr McMurtry praised its products' popularity and financial growth.

He said: "A high level of research and development remains integral to Renishaw's progress. Research and development, including associated engineering costs, during the period amounted to £15.6 million.

"During this half year we have particularly focussed on the large number of new products recently introduced."

Renishaw has won 12 Queen's Awards during the last 28 years, most recently scooping the Queen's Award for Enterprise for Innovation.