Last year's negative figure was largely the result of one-off costs as the company reorganised its core business and shed unprofitable divisions. The company announced in April it had appointed PriceWaterhouseCoopers to advise on the sale of its UK business processing outsourcing division Global Document Solutions.

Even so, revenues for the quarter ending 30 June were up nearly 4.6% at $2.9 billion compared to $2.8bn in 2007, helped by favourable exchange rates although the company said it is still battling declining volumes and price pressure.

However, the results were off analysts' hopes, which forecast a 6.4% rise in revenues much closer to $3bn and shares only marginally climbed on the news, closing at $27.62 on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.

The revenues also incorporate RR Donnelley's recent buys of companies in which it believes its rigourous financial structuring can boost margins. These include the purchase of Von Hoffmann in May of 2007, Cardinal Brands in December of 2007 and Pro Line Printing in March of 2008.

"As we mentioned in the pre-release of our second-quarter results on July 16, we are pleased with our results in the context of challenging global economic conditions," said Thomas J. Quinlan III, RR Donnelley's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The preparation and diligence in continuously managing our cost structure paid off as operating margins expanded, driven by our U.S. Print and Related Services segment. We reaffirm our full-year non-GAAP operating margin guidance of slightly greater than 10%."