BRADFORD-based double glazing firm Safestyle UK yesterday announced a 10.3 per cent increase in pre-tax profits for the first six months of this year.

The firm, the largest retailer and manufacturer of PVCu windows and doors for the UK homeowner replacement market, produced a 10.3 per cent increase to £69.2 million for the first half of this year, up from £7.8 million for the first half of 2013.

The company also saw a 13 per cent rise in gross profit to £25.2 million for the six months ending June 30 this year. The figure for the same six-month period ending June 30, 2013.

The Eldon Place-based company's revenue for the first half of this year was recorded at £69.2 million, up by 10 per cent from £62.7 over the same period last year.

The company has an interim dividend of 3.1 pence per share to be paid on November 3 this year.

The volume of frames installed increased by eight per cent to 136,518, from 126,451 last year. Average unit sales price is up by 1.5 per cent to £503, up from £495 in 2013.

Their leads generated from media and online marketing increased by 12 per cent to 27,762, up for 24,877 in the first half of last year.

The company, launched in 1992, also opened a new depot off Wakefield Road, Bradford, in April this year, employing around six depot staff with 12 installation teams covering the North and Midlands.

Other highlights from the firm's figures included sales in the south of England increasing by 21 per cent, a 8.24 per cent growth in market share at June 30 this year, from 7.85 per cent at the end of last year.

Steve Birmingham, chief executive, says the increase in sales in Southern England this year has helped the figures and is part of a deliberate strategy of expansion for the firm.

He said: "We are pleased with these solid results.

"It's a success story for Bradford. A lot of our growth has come from the head office in Bradford, we have created 50 posts there this year.

"We have had four to five years of real growth. Our objective is to keep that going.

"It's a market that's volatile at the moment, so it's hard to predict how we will do in the future.

"We have previously had a strong market presence in the North and Midlands and not in the South and South East."