The Houston-based commercial printer said revenues for the quarter were up 2.8 % compared to same quarter last year to US $243.4m, but earnings fell to $1.6m, compared with $6.8m for Q1 2010.

In a statement announcing the results, CGX chairman and CEO Joe Davis said, "We grew sales and maintained profitability in a non-election quarter when we typically experience our lowest seasonal demand, and at the same time, increased our investment in the technology and innovation that differentiates our value proposition. As the year progresses, we will continue to invest in our best-in-class solutions, manage our costs, and acquire good assets to grow sales and increase profitability going forward."

CGX saw its stock price plunge $10.10 to $40.49 after the financials results were announced amid investor concern that not only did the company miss its revenue growth target of 5% made three months ago, but also that expenses were up for the quarter ending June 30th. Some of those increased costs were tied to a $4.6m expense related to the withdrawal from some multi-employer pension plans.

Consolidated Graphics also said the most recent quarter had lower revenue from election-related business, and in a conference calls with analysts, company executives said comparable sales for the next two quarters may also be impacted by the fact that 2011 is, for the most part, a non-election year in the US.

But Davis again projected that revenues for the September quarter would be up by as much as 5% to US$262 - $272m, adding, "We also expect Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share in the September 2011 quarter, excluding the estimated impact of lower election-related business, to improve compared to the same quarter of the prior year."

During the analyst call, Davis noted that initial customer interest in CGX's new advanced web-to-print solution Streamline has been very strong, adding, "We are currently in the process of implementing 35 new Streamline sites for our customers. Considering that before the introduction of this new product, we had 530 web-to-print storefront sites, we are pleased with the reception Streamline is receiving in the marketplace."

Davis would not comment on the volume or timing of future CGX acquisitions, but suggested that there are plenty of printers, both healthy and under stress, who could become potential targets. "The companies we have been looking at - most of them will go out of business if they don't do something," he added.