Its book business was busy, while demand in point-of-sale was "steady". Company reports remained competitive although paginations were up. Overcapacity and "fiercely competitive" pricing prevailed in magazines and commercial printing.
During the second half of its financial year St Ives completed the closure of its Caerphilly web offset plant and transferred its point-of-sale business to SP in Redditch, which it acquired last September.
It also commissioned 64pp MAN Roland Lithomans at Peterborough and Roche.
Having dipped towards the end of last week, the group's share price was rising as PrintWeek closed, trading at 379p.
St Ives second half trading to meet forecast
Trading at St Ives for the second half of its financial year was in line with the indications given in its interim statement, it said in its pre-close period trading update this week.
