Booming Brics boost JCB

Building booms in China and India have helped the digger business JCB to reach record sales in the first half of 2012.

Sales of diggers for road and house building in the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China have rocketed to more than 35,000 in the first six months of 2012, beating its half-year record of 32,600 in the boom year of 2007.

The 67-year-old company predicts its sales could reach 70,000 for the full year, smashing last year's 69,100.

Sir Anthony Bamford, son of the founder, Joseph Cyril, has run the business since 1975. It has 22 factories on four continents and employs 10,000. It sells 300 different varieties of machines across 150 countries.

In April the company posted record results for 2011, with sales up 36 per cent and underlying profit of £355m for the full year.

Sales have doubled in three years to £2.5bn in 2011.