Group revenue for the year to 28 February 2014 increased 11.3% to £27m (2013: £24.2m) while underlying operating profit rose 53% to £2.5m (2012: £1.6m) and pre-tax profit almost trebled, from £856,000 to £2.3m.

Tangent generated £2.9m of operating cash flow and increased its net cash by £640,000 to £2.8m at 28 February 2014.

In a statement, Tangent chief executive Timothy Green said: "2013-14 was a strong year for Tangent, with profits beating market expectations, our cash balance looking healthy and dividends generated.

"We have the ambition to become a major player in the online retail print market, and this year the company took strides towards that goal, with the proportion of revenues generated online increasing to 34%. This trend is expected to continue."

Green added: "Our investment in a state-of-the-art print facility is allowing us to accelerate the online side of the business; we are poised to sell more of our existing product lines to an increasing customer base and launch new websites; and the Goodprint acquisition gives us a foundation from which to expand into new consumer markets."

However, it was a 20% year-on-year drop in sales from Goodprint, from £4.05m (on a pro forma full year) to £3.24m, that was the main negative in Tangent's otherwise positive results.

Tangent acquired Goodprint for £10.2m in October 2012 (£6.8m net of £3.4m cash on Goodprint's balance sheet at the time); for the year ended 30 September 2012 Goodprint reported operating profit of £1.2m on its £4m turnover.

Tangent said that the online business card printer had "continued to attract a comparable number of visitors to the prior year, but the conversion of these visits into sales slowed".

The company added: "Our primary product, the business card remains in high demand and the range of design and price combinations varied. We must match customers with the most appropriate offer or discount to maximise sales".

Tangent said that it had begun recruiting a new ecommerce team in November 2013, with the experience to improve Goodprint's performance and that the first impact of the new team had been to rationalise Goodprint's marketing budget.

"Sales from new customers have now begun to climb as we find more effective areas to advertise," the firm added.

Green was unavailable for additional comment at the time of writing.

The performance of Goodprint was in contrast to Printed.com, where Tangent said that "the trend in repeat orders was strong and well ahead of expectations" leading to a 53.7% increase in revenues to £6.1m, and to the third business in its Online segment, Ravensworth, which increased its sales to £6.6m.

Combined revenue for the Online segment grew nearly 27% to £16.5m (2013: £13m) while underlying operating profit more than doubled from £816,000 to £1.8m.

Revenue from the group's Agency segment (previously Services), comprising Tangent Snowball and T/OD (Tangent On Demand) dropped to £11.3m (2013: £13.1m) although underlying operating profit was flat at £1.2m.

The drop in sales was the result of Tangent Snowball's decision to focus on a smaller number of higher value contracts, leading to lower segment revenues (in spite of revenue growth of 6.2% at T/OD to £2.4m) but higher gross margins for Tangent Snowball (89% up from 77%).

Group capex for the year was £530,000 (2013: £810,000) in print and finishing equipment and £560,000 (2013: £760,000) in software; Tangent said it expected total investment to continue at similar levels in the current financial year.

Meanwhile, Tangent disposed of 81% of the holding in the Australian arm of Tangent Snowball in the year, leading to non-recurring expenses of £130,000.

The group has proposed a 20% increase in its final dividend to 0.24p per share (2013: 0.2p per share); Tangent's share price was largely unchanged at 9.12p at the time of writing.