The £328m turnover group said that since the beginning of its new financial year on 2 August, the print market had remained “challenging” particularly in retail.

Despite this, it said its Print Services division comprising SP Group, Service Graphics, and Clays had continued to perform well. The division had sales of just under £230m at the year-end.

Chief executive Matt Armitage said that print sales on a like-for-like basis, excluding the St Ives Direct Bradford business sold in 2013, were up by 5-6%.

“The retail market is tough at the moment, there is a lot of turmoil and very intense competition between retailers, and that has an effect,” he said.

“Sales are slightly down at SP but slightly up at Service Graphics, so things are holding up overall in marketing print.”

He said book printing operation Clays had had a “buoyant” start to the year. It has printed a number of titles that are expected to be Christmas bestsellers, including the debut novel Girl Online by vlogger Zoe Sugg aka Zoella, who has 2.65m followers on Twitter. 

Her YouTube video "seeing my book being printed" has had more than 1.5m views.

“It’s very interesting. One is able to see the benefits of a YouTube phenomenon coming through to the printed world,” Armitage added.

He said print margins were “holding up” and the group would continue to invest in its print operations.

At the group’s burgeoning Marketing Services wing sales were up significantly year-on-year due to acquisitions, and operating margins have also increased.

It is working on a number of initiatives including a new digital/CRM solution blending know-how from Amaze and Occam.

Armitage said the group remained on the lookout for acquisitions.

“We are hoping to acquire at least one business this financial year, but there’s nothing imminent,” he added.

St Ives’ share price rose 1.76p to 180.76p on the announcement. The 52 week high is 224.75p, low 170.75p.

"Seeing my book being printed" video by Zoella