PROFITS at Hampshire anti-missile flare and ejector-seat component maker Chemring have shot up 66 per cent to £31m, from £19m last year.

The Whiteley based firm, which employs 800 people in the UK, has £246m worth of future orders after getting a boost from the war on terror and international instability.

Its missile countermeasures or chaff business, pictured, saw record production levels and a 37 per cent jump in profits.

Ken Scobie, Chemring Group chairman, said: "2006 has been a year of dynamic progress and outstanding performance.

"The board believes that with the current record order book, a full 12 months' earnings from each of the companies now in the group, and the opportunities for our product range at a time of political and military uncertainty, not just in the Middle East, further significant growth is achievable in 2007."