Dyson sucks up the profits in China thanks to demand for air purifiers

The firm said two 'red' warnings over smog levels in Beijing had boosted demand

Sir James Dyson (EPA)

Sir James Dyson’s eponymous manufacturing company has benefited from a surge in demand for the firm’s air purifiers in China. Dyson’s turnover rose more than a quarter to £1.7bn in 2015, with profits up nearly a fifth at £488m.

Sales in China, where air pollution is a major problem, more than tripled. Dyson started selling vacuum cleaners and humidifiers in China three years ago and has expanded the range to include purifiers in the past year.

The firm said two “red” warnings over smog levels in Beijing had boosted demand. “What is driving that growth [is] our expanding slate of technologies, from intelligent vacuum cleaners to air purifiers to lights,” said Max Conze, the chief executive.

The company, which was founded by Sir James in 1993, said it would launch 10 new consumer products in the coming month. Dyson is also investing in long-lasting battery technology.

It has been criticised in the past for moving manufacturing out of the UK to lower cost countries overseas. But Mr Conze said yesterday: “All of our IP, patents, inventions and technologies are generated in the UK. They create highly valued, well-paid British jobs [and] most of the taxes we pay in the world are paid in Britain.”

Last year Sir James pledged a donation of £12m to Imperial College London’s Dyson School of Design Engineering. Holkham Group, Dyson’s parent company, paid him a dividend of £55m last March.