The European Space Agency themed Lego which will be going to space with Andreas Mogensen.

Lego, the Danish toy company announced that revenue rose 23% to 14.1bn kroner (£1.4 billion) for the prior six months to June 30^th. Net profit over the duration was 3.5bn kroner (£345m), a rise of 838m kroner.

Chief Commercial Officer, Loren I Shuster said “while all our regions experienced double digit growth during the first half of 2015, it is particularly satisfactory that Asia saw the highest growth rates given the considerable investments we are making there to further the company’s globalisation.”

CEO Joergen Vig Knudstorp noted “this is especially encouraging since we compare to 2014 when Lego movie products boosted our performance,” and described the businesses results as “highly satisfactory” with expectations of earnings for 2015 to be good.

The company saw the largest increase in sales in Asia following heavy investments in the region to spread its market share in regions outside of Europe and North America. Lego plans to open a new factory in Jiaxing, China, later this year to boost its supply capabilities to the Asian market.

During the first half of the year Lego had more than 300 different sets on the market which ranged from the detailed Technic mobile crane to heroic Ninjas and fantasy theme Lego Elves.

On Wednesday Andreas Mogensen, Denmark’s first astronaut, brought with him 20 Lego figures as he set off into space on a Russian Soyuz rocket. He is one of a three-man international crew on the Soyuz mission to the International Space Station. On return the figures, bearing European Space Agency logos will be competition prizes and given away.

The toy market in the first half of 2015 did expand however not in double figures like Lego. Chief financial officer John Goodwin said the weakness of the Danish currency and the euro improved sales by 5 percentage points and said “what we need to stay laser-focused on is to continue to innovate around the Lego brick, creating super play experiences for children around the globe and continue to stay relevant as trends evolve.”

Lego, as it is not publicly listed does not release quarterly figures but has published earning results since 1997. The organisation is based in Billund, Denmark, and employs 15,000 people, which rose from 12,500 last year.