At least one company is benefiting from the global economic crisis: Netherlands-based bicycle maker Accell said on Wednesday it expected higher than expected 2008 profits owing to rising sales.

`Cycling remains popular in economically adverse times,` Accell Group chief executive Rene Takens said in a statement.

The group, which claims to be the market leader in Europe, expects net profits to rise by 15 percent year-on-year -- up from growth of 10 percent predicted a few months ago.

`The order intake for the 2008-2009 bicycle season is currently at a higher level than last year,` said the statement.

The group, which has manufacturing plants in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Finland, France and Hungary, recorded sales of 476 million euros (about 600 million dollars) last year, and net profit of 24.4 million euros.

Forty-five percent of its sales are in the Netherlands, followed by Germany with 24 percent and France with nine percent, said the statement.