Dalton added that the UK division would not be affected by the 5,000 planned job cuts announced by the group, but would be making "minor adjustments", affecting around five jobs.

Fujifilm Holdings Corporation recorded a 14.5% decline in turnover, to ¥2.4tr (£16.5bn), coupled with an 82% drop in operating income, to ¥37.3bn, and a 95.3% drop in pre-tax profit, which was ¥9.4bn compared with ¥199.3bn a year earlier.

The company's Information Solutions division, which includes its Graphic Arts business, posted a 14.6% decline in turnover, to ¥946.1bn, and an 84% fall in operating income, to ¥20.4bn.

However, Dalton said: "The UK turned in a like-for-like performance, year-on-year, so it was an encouraging year, despite the difficult circumstances."

He added that of the decline in operating income, 42% was attributable to market conditions, while raw materials, exchange rates and restructuring charges made up the remainder.

Dalton blamed bad debt for the majority of the UK company's problems over the last financial year, saying this had been the biggest challenge.

"The impact of bad debt on your bottom line is enormous. Unfortunately, the UK is a market where trading terms are maybe not as tight as elsewhere on the continent, therefore when a company goes, everyone gets hit very badly," he added.

According to Dalton, there have been some signs of recovery in the last month, although he warned this could equally be due to seasonality as it could to market recovery.

He said: "I think we will have a stronger quarter than in the first three months of this calendar year."