Lego A/S booked record sales and profit last year, as consumers of all ages turned to its iconic toy bricks during the pandemic.

Net income rose 19 per cent to 9.9 billion kroner (US$1.6 billion), the company, which is based in western Denmark, said on Wednesday. Sales gained 13 per cent to 43.7 billion kroner, the most Lego has ever brought in during a single year.

Under Chief Executive Officer Niels B. Christiansen, Lego has invested heavily in online platforms and products that couple its colorful building blocks with digitized elements. But the company also said it added about 25 per cent to its branded physical stores last year, bringing its global presence to 678 stores.

Lego, which is controlled by the family of billionaire Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, said on Wednesday it won market share globally as well as in all its 12 largest markets in 2020.

“For the past two years we’ve made large-scale investments in initiatives designed to support long-term growth,” Christiansen said in the statement. “In 2020, we began to see the benefits of these, especially in e-commerce and product innovation.”