Electronics group Bookham Technology said demand for fibre-optic components had led to a 67 per cent increase in revenues.

Oxfordshire's Business of the Year award winner, which makes fibre-optic components for high-speed Internet traffic, said an 83 per cent increase in sales meant revenues rose to £7.7m in the period to September 30 from £4.6m in the previous quarter.

However, its rapid expansion plans meant the group, based at Milton Park, near Abingdon, announced widening losses of £6.4m against £4.2m last time.

Chief executive Andrew Rickman said: "We are very pleased with the significant progress we made this quarter toward reaching the next phase in the company's development."

The company said it had also completed the expansion of its assembly and test facilities at Milton Park, doubling the amount of floor space available.

Together with its plant at Swindon, the completion ahead of schedule of its expansion plans meant the company now has six times as much floor space as at the start of the year.

Nortel is its largest customer, accounting for 56 per cent of its revenue.

Announced its third quarter results, the company also said the costs of research and development had increased 32 per cent to £4.3m, from £3.3m in the previous quarter.

Research staff numbers rose 35 per cent to 194 during the period.

The number of people employed in the group as a whole rose to 787 from 593 in the previous quarter.