Renishaw, a British precision engineering company, has raised its full-year revenue and profit forecast for the second time in a month after posting a 36 per cent jump in first-half revenue, helped by big orders from the Asia-Pacific region.

The company has reported strong results over the past few quarters, which some analysts have in the past linked to the launch of new products from Apple.

Contract manufacturers are believed to use Renishaw's tools, including precision measurement and calibration systems, to make Apple products.

Apple on Tuesday reported record sales of big-screen iPhones in the holiday shopping season and a 70 per cent rise in China sales.

The company said revenue from the Far East had risen 90 per cent in the first half to £112.4 million. It added that there were large orders for its machine tool products from a number of Far East customers particularly in the consumer electronics markets.

"We assumed mainly Foxconn for Apple products but Samsung may also be on board," Investec analyst Michael Blogg said, referring to the orders in the company's Metrology division.

Renishaw, which makes machine tool probes and gauges, now expects a full-year pre-tax profit of £130m to £150m and revenue of £480m to £510m.

For the year ending June 30, the company earlier expected a pre-tax profit of £120m to £140m and revenue of £465m to £495m.

Renishaw's profit more than doubled to £56.6m in the six months ended December. 31.

The strong revenue growth trend of the first half was expected to continue into the second half, Renishaw said.