Increasing desire among Britons for sex toys and lubricants has led to a further surge in sales of the products, the owner of Durex condoms said today.

ISSL International said sales of its Durex Play range, which includes lubricants and vibrators, have leapt 17.7% in a year to £43.3 million.

The company, which also owns the Scholl footcare brand, said the range has seen "particularly good growth" in the UK.

And the growing demand helped pre-tax profits to rise by a third to £76.5 million in the year to March 31 from £57.4 million a year earlier, the firm said.

A SSL spokesman said new Durex Play products, including Play O, a gel which helps women achieve orgasm, had "contributed handsomely" to growth.

"Our brand development continues to focus on enhancing people's sexual wellbeing.

"The consumer appetite for Play O demonstrates their desire for product innovations, which enhance sexual pleasure."

SSL said full-year group sales rose 20.3% to £642.4 million, with overall sales at Durex up 7.3% to £266.9 million.

Sales of its Scholl footcare products climbed 11.4% to £143 million while Scholl footwear saw income rise 5.1% to £92.9 million.

However, revenues from its locally-owned brands - such as Syndol pain reliever and Meltus cough medicine in the UK and Mister Baby in Southern Europe - dipped 1.2% to £75.3 million.

Shares in the company rose 6% today as it hiked its final dividend by more than 20% to 6.4p per share and said the new financial year had begun in line with expectations.

Garry Watts, chief executive, said: "We have again outperformed our targets notwithstanding the challenge of a difficult consumer environment.

"By driving growth in our core brands, Durex and Scholl, through the introduction of innovative products and effective marketing, we believe we are well placed to continue to exploit opportunities in all of our markets."

Mr Watts added that the firm was scrapping its old target of 10% annual operating profit growth and imposing a new benchmark of growing earnings per share by at least 50% by 2012.

The increase in the growth target, he said, comes ahead of an anticipated boost to trading from recently-acquired operations in Russia.

The group, which was formed through a series of mergers ten years ago, has operations in 35 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas, selling its products in more than 100 countries worldwide.

It has distribution centres in Middleton, near Manchester, and Redruth, Cornwall.

Credit Suisse analyst Charlie Mills said the results were ahead of forecasts and added that the raised growth target was an indication of the company's confidence.