In the year to the end of September 2004 the group posted sales up 12% to 104m. Operating profits held at just over 6m.

The firm invested in a major expansion of its main Scarborough site during the period and brought a number of services in-house, including perfect binding at its new 10,000m2 bindery facility.

Directory pre-media specialist Pindar Set and the AlphaGraphics quickprint chain also turned in solid performances.
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However, Pindar's bottom line was hit by a 5m-plus write-off related to the demerged Pindar Systems catalogue management business, leading to a pre-tax loss of 866,000. Pindar bought back Systems' intellectual property rights in March 2004.

Chairman Andrew Pindar said: "We have worked hard at re-shaping the whole group to ensure we are meeting the needs of customers and responding to developments in the market place."

Trading in the first half of the 2004-2005 financial year shows pre-tax profits up 43%.

Story by Jo Francis