A YEAR of robust trading which saw it outperform the market has put Bradford-based doors and windows company Safestyle UK on track for a £1 million profits boost.

In a trading update, the manufacturer and installer of replacement PVCu windows and doors said it boosted sales by 9.5 per cent in the year to December 31 to nearly £150 million compared with £136 million the year before.

In the second half year Safestyle achieved double digit growth in both sales and profit.

Full year profit before tax is expected to meet market expectations of £17.6 million, against £16.4 million a year earlier.

Growth was boosted in weaker market conditions by Safestyle's improved customer finance offer which helped to lift sales strongly in the second half of the year .

Operating margins are expected to show some decline as a result of subsidising the finance offer.

Safestyle continued to increase its market share from 8.48 per cent as at the end of 2014 to 9.46 per cent s at December 31 2015, according to data from trade body FENSA, which showed an overall market contraction for 2015 of 6.6 per cent.

The number of door and window frames produced by Safestyle grew by 4.4 per cent to nearly 280,000 with installations rising by 4.3 per cent to more than 60,000. Its order book at the end of the year was 1.2 per cent up on a year earlier.

Safestyle doubled its cash levels from £8.5 million to £16.5 million .

Steve Birmingham, chief executive, said: “I am pleased to report that trading over the year has been robust.

"We have continued to heavily outperform the market, thanks to the quality of our product range, the attractiveness of our finance offer and the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts. We have seen a strong start to 2016 and are confident of building on the progress made in 2015.”

Safestyle intends to announce its audited results for the year to December 31 2015 March 17.

The update coincides with the latest manufacturing data from the CBI which said production and order books stabilised in the final quarter of 2015, with limited signs of an export recovery.

Manufacturers expect some growth in domestic new orders and output over the next quarter, but export orders are expected to remain flat and optimism has declined further. Even so, firms plan to invest more in training and product innovation over the next 12 months.