FREEPORT (AP) – L.L. Bean’s sales topped $1.5 billion for the first time in 2006 and the Board of Directors was impressed enough by the company’s performance on Friday to reward employees with $25.5 million in cash bonuses.

L.L. Bean’s sales grew by 4.6 percent during the fiscal year ending Feb. 25, closing out a year that saw online sales overtake traditional catalog sales. Overall, online sales grew 13 percent.

The company also opened new stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut and four stores in Japan, in addition to a bike, boat and ski store in Freeport.

The bonuses are each equal to 7.5 percent of the annual salary of eligible workers, said L.L. Bean spokeswoman Carolyn Beem. More than 4,900 workers are eligible for the bonuses, which will be paid on March 29. In the past five years, bonuses have ranged from zero to 15 percent, Beem said.