The group said that the November 2008 financial restructuring, which slashed its net debt from £208m to £70m, had put the group in "a strong position to deal with the challenging market conditions".

However, despite the benefits to the group's balance sheet from the debt reduction, it still posted a £54.4m pre-tax loss from the year, although this was a significant improvement on the £177.2m loss in 2008.

Group turnover fell around 10.5% to £310m (UK turnover £275.7m), whilst underlying EBITDA was down 34.8% at £31.7m, although Polestar said that this was "nevertheless considerably above that of any other UK printer and in the top league of European printers".

Group finance director Peter Johnston said: "Despite significant pressure on pricing and volumes, Polestar has been successful in gaining market share in the year with notable title wins.

"The result, while disappointing, is a reflection of market conditions, but is a very creditable performance in comparison with other printers."

He added that the company's EBITDA leverage, or profit to debt ratio, was reduced from 4.3x to a "pretty healthy" 2.2x in the period and said that the company projected that this would fall to below 2x in the current financial year.

The company also reduced its lease debt from around £40m to approximately £36m in 2009 and, according to Johnston, that figure will be reduced further this year by about £20m.

This, allied with the substantial reduction in the company's net debt via the debt-for-equity swap in 2008, has had "a major positive impact on the group's cashflows".

"The interest charges, as a result of the substantial write-off of debt, will be significantly lower, which will improve not just profitability but also liquidity," said Johnston.

He added that the company had the full support of its shareholders and lenders and that there was not necessarily any pressure on the group to start turning a profit within a particular timeframe.

"I think the key thing for them is to see us repaying the debt over the course of the next two years," he said. "As that debt reduces, so the equity value and the value of the company increases."