Mauritian clothing manufacturer Ciel Textile has reported a 27% rise in full-year pretax profit to 827.20 million rupees ($23.31 million), thanks to its expansion in Asia which have helped rise sales to Asian markets Internationalisation of operations and expansion in Asia remain the major strategic focus of the group, the company said.

The supplier of knitwear to Britain's Marks & Spencer and Next and Spain's Inditex reported revenue for the year to June 30 of 10.11 billion rupees from 9.56 billion rupees a year ago. Market conditions in Europe and South Africa remain challenging.

Listed on the Indian Ocean island's secondary Development and Enterprise Market, the company said that its earnings per share rose to 6.90 rupees from 5.08 rupees a year earlier.

Ciel Textile which employs around 17,000 in textiles in the region is a leading manufacturer in the African Sub-Saharan Region and is said to be largest Woolmark knitwear supplier in the world.

The group operates as a regional one-stop shop, with vertical integration from spinning to finished products, offering complete apparel solutions for men’s, women’s and children’s wear.

The group has operational units in Mauritius, Madagascar and India, and continues its efforts to compete with European manufacturers moving towards the up-market. This strategy involves investing in the latest technology, broadening its product range and the reinforcement of the human resources of the group.

The Ciel Textiles group has 8 business units: knitwear, knits, shirs, bottoms, spinning, weaving, dyeing and retail. Through its retail unit, CieI commercialises the brand Harris Wilson and Floreal Boutiques.

In garment manufacture, Ciel owns the well known Floreal Knitwear which has knitwear operations in Mauritius, Madagascar, China and Bangladesh and Tropic Knits which has circular knitting plants in Mauritius and leisurewear making up units in Madagascar.

In fabrics and yarns the Ciel group owns Consolidated Dyeing & Fabrics which knits fabrics in Mauritius and Ferney Spinning Mills which spins carded yarn for knitwear and weaving in Mauritius.

Ciel is expanding its network of textile factories, particularly in South east Asia, to broaden and diversify its product offerings in order to access further the US market and the regional emerging markets.

The Ciel Textile Group exports nearly 30m garments, produces around 25m metre of woven and knitted fabrics and spins 1,500 tons of woollen yarn per year.