Revenues for the period December 2009 to February 2010 came in at €614m (£543m) – down 7% on the previous year – while the Dutch company made a pre-tax loss of €3.9m compared to a profit of €18.9m in the same period in 2009.

Océ said the decline in its Digital Document Systems sector had bottomed out when compared to the latter part of 2009, but year-on-year sales experienced a €25m decrease.

In its Wide Format Printing Systems division, the manufacturer recorded a €16m decline in sales to €159m, citing a decrease in activity in the construction and manufacturing markets.

Van Iperen said: "Although our revenues were still declining in first quarter 2010, the decrease was less significant than in each of the three previous quarters. Some of our key markets are showing signs of either stabilising or even picking up."

He explained that the manufacturer's priority and focus in the short term was the cross-selling of Canon products following the company's acquisition.

"Integration activities will be carefully considered, taking the current shareholding structure into account," he added.