Iconic kitchen stove maker Aga Foodservices, which bought former Irish rival Waterford Stanley in 2005, said yesterday that Ireland is now one of its core business areas.

All Aga's brands performed particularly well in the Republic during 2006, the company said yesterday as it announced results for the year.

Pretax profit last year grew by 7.7 per cent to £46 million (€67 million), while revenue at the group jumped 15 per cent to £528.9 million.

Earnings per share increased by over 8 per cent to 28.7p.

The company said that the introduction of new products, combined with marketing campaigns, had contributed to the continued growth.

Some 30 per cent of the 20,000 cast-iron cookers sold by Aga last year were in Ireland, it said, and the Rangemaster brand of cooker was particularly popular with Irish consumers.

"We have strong brands and market positions," chief executive William McGrath said yesterday.

"We have the ideas and resources to develop them further as well as increasing shareholders returns with a special dividend."