The company said it had made "a good start to the year" adding that the year-on-year growth for the 13-week period ending 28 October was largely down to "acquisitive and organic growth" in that division, while print revenues remain stable.

It said it had already begun to cross-sell the services of recent acquisitions Response One and Pragma along with its earlier buys Occam and Tactical Solutions and said the businesses continued to present opportunities for growth and margin gains. It added it would continue to hunt down further "selective acquisitions".

In its print business, it referenced the closure of its Westerham and Blackburn facilities and described its "necessary restructuring" as "nearing completion". With stable revenues and a claimed gain in market share, cost reduction remains a focus as markets continue to suffer from excess capacity and uncertain demand.

However, one bright spot appeared to be next year's London Olympics which is creating demand for large format graphics, benefitting its PoS division comprising SP and Service Graphics.

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