Stella's week gets even better as she goes into profit

Stella McCartney has topped her triumph at the Paris Fashion Week with a first serious profit for her own label.

The 37-year-old's company Stella McCartney Ltd, which the designer jointly owns with Gucci, made a pretax profit of almost under £1.1 million last year.

The breakthrough will come as a huge relief to Gucci, which has poured millions of pounds into the business since teaming up with the former Beatle's daughter in 2001.

It follows the unveiling of her widely acclaimed "beach holiday" spring collection in Paris yesterday, described as "beautiful" by her father Sir Paul.

The designer, known as Stella Steel in the industry for her tough determination and ambition, has built a wide following with celebrities such as Kate Moss, Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. The Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips often wears McCartney clothes

Accounts lodged with Companies House today show that Stella McCartney Ltd sales rose by almost a quarter to £11.27 million in 2007.

The accounts cover sales from her flagship stores in Mayfair and income from licensing ventures but does not include revenue from her two US stores or wholesaling.

It has taken six years for the McCartney brand to start making money, in which time it has accumulated losses of more than £14 million. Last year the business broke into the black for the first time but only made a tiny profit of £180,678.

Although her collections have been acclaimed, McCartney'stature in the industry will be hugely boosted by commercial success. A statement in the accounts says it is "particularly pleasing to realise the benefits of past investment" but warns that the financial crisis "is likely to affect our customers' propensity to spend".