The printer hardware and consumables distributor recorded reorganisation costs of £300,000, which fuelled a 92% fall in profits to £40,000 for the six months to 30 June.

In a statement to the stock exchange by chairman B C Clark, the company said that market conditions were "tougher than it had seen for some time".

It added: "I consider that the reorganisation changes we continue to make to the structure of the business will strengthen our platform and enable us to look forward to 2009 with more confidence, providing, of course, market conditions do not deteriorate further."

However, the company said Graphic Arts Equipment (GAE), which the company acquired in January, performed well during the period contributing £4.1m in sales.

This helped the group achieve a £3m increase in turnover to £25.4m for the period.

Eddie Williams, sales director at the company, said that he remained positive and that the company was up for the challenge it faced in the current climate.

There are a lot of positives in our current business, and GAE continues to perform strongly. We are in a period of consolidation and we are still going to consider acquisitions if the right opportunity presents itself, he said.  

Chief executive Michael Hammond said the challenging environment stemming from the uncertainty in the financial markets had impacted on the print market.

He added that the company was continuing to address its cost base.