A Scottish textiles company has increased its profits by almost 35% as a result of strong sales growth in its golf knitwear ranges. Golf clothing manufacturer Lyle & Scott recorded a pre-tax profit of £8.6m in the year to March 2010, compared to profits of £6.4m the preceding year. The company, which is based in Selkirk and has a factory in Hawick, increased its sales by 28% to £34m during the year.

Lyle & Scott was founded in Hawick in 1874 and the company's drive to become the knitwear producer of choice for fashion-conscious golfers appeared to have paid off in the UK, where turnover increased by 35% to £24.5m. Sales in Europe increased by 16% to £9.6m.

Lyle & Scott, which opened a flagship store in London's Covent Garden in 2005, is owned by English Midlands based Waterlink Investments, which controls a group of clothing manufacturing businesses, including Clan Douglas and Hawick Knitwear which manufactures knitwear for the Lyle & Scott brand.

Lyle & Scott's success will be welcomed as evidence that companies can still make money from textiles manufacturing in Scotland.