Sales have been strong in the US, UK, Australia and Ireland

The group, which makes pottery and china in Staffordshire and Asia and glass and crystal in Ireland, saw a rise in sales in the UK and the US.

Department store sales of Royal Doulton rose by 25% in the UK and UK sales of Wedgwood were up 13% and 10% in the US.

In June, the group said it had suffered "unacceptable" losses in the past year.

Our most important brands have shown significant growth Peter Cameron, chief executive of Waterford Wedgwood

Turnover was boosted by the acquisition of Royal Doulton in 2005 and the firm said it was aggressively cutting costs in an effort to boost investment in new products and marketing.

But a trading statement released on Thursday revealed positive sales results across many brands.

Retail sales of Waterford Crystal in the US were up 6% and 8% in the UK and Ireland.

Royal Doulton sales rose by 14% in Australia.

Job cuts

Peter Cameron, group chief executive, said: "Across virtually all of our brands, our retailers saw significantly higher sales over Christmas.

"As a result, our leading retailers and our products had their best Christmas for five years.

"Our most important brands have shown significant growth.

"I am particularly pleased by the performance of Waterford Crystal our biggest brand, in North America, our biggest market."

In July, the Wedgwood announced it was to cut 117 jobs at its Barlaston factory in Staffordshire after 161 jobs were lost earlier in 2006.