Despite the costs of acquiring Best, Printcafe and T/R Systems, net income for the year rose 39% to 14.4m ($26.5m) on sales up 8.3% to 207m.

Net income in the fourth quarter, when the T/R Systems and Printcafe deals were completed, fell 86% to 600,000 on sales up 19% to 59m. For the first quarter 2004 the firm expects revenues of 56m.

We finished 2003 with an encouraging level of business activity and weve started 2004 with a strong growth outlook, said EFI chief executive Guy Gecht.

The firm is consolidating its products and services under the EFI umbrella and has dropped the Electronics for Imaging name.