STARBUCKS kept up its dominance of the coffee shop sector yesterday after earnings rose 21 per cent and it revealed plans for another 1,800 stores worldwide.

It said it took revenues of $1.7bn (£988.9m) in the 13 weeks to October 2, up 13 per cent on a year earlier and helped by strong growth overseas and China in particular.

The company opened 1,672 sites during the last financial year, bringing its total to more than 10,000 worldwide, including more than 400 in the UK. Another 1,800 company-owned and licensed sites are due to open in the next financial year, with 500 due to begin trading in its overseas market.

Earnings for the company's fourth quarter were $124m (£72.1m) and left the figure for the 2005 financial year at $494m (£287.4m), compared with $389m (£226.3m) last time.