The computer networks company 3Com, which employs more than 800 people in its Blanchardstown factory, said it had record sales of $3.1 billion (£2 billion) for its financial year to the end of May, a rise of 35 per cent. Excluding non recurring items, profits climbed 36 per cent for the year, to $381 million, the company said.

For its financial fourth quarter, sales rose 26 per cent over the previous year, to $830 million. Earnings also rose, by 8 per cent, to $82.5 million, excluding non recurring items.

Earlier this month, 3Com and US Robotics announced a $6.6 billion merger, the largest such deal ever in the electronic networking industry.

The agreement is likely to speed the expansion planned at Blanchardstown, already 3Com's largest manufacturing facility. Last October, the company announced that 775 new jobs would be created in Ireland, bringing the total to 1,150 by the year 2001.