In its interim results, the business posted pre-tax profits of £1.5m for the six months ending 31 August 2013 (2012: £964,000), and a 12% increase in group revenue over the period, to £13.5m.

Sales from the group’s retail sites Printed.com, Goodprint and Smileprint increased from £1.7m to £4.8m, boosted by strong growth from Printed.com. On a like-for-like basis revenues across the three sites increased by £0.83m (an increase of 23%) adjusting for sales from Goodprint and Smileprint, acquired in 2012.

The figures are good news for the group, which posted a 40% slump in full year pre-tax profits in May, citing expenses relating to the acquisition and integration of the Goodprint and Smileprint brands.

"I am delighted to announce that Tangent's first half performance exceeded expectations. We spent much of last year investing in our business; the benefits of this will be most noticeable in the second half,” said Tangent chief executive Timothy Green.

Green said the second half of the year to February 2014 had begun well and like for like sales and profits were already ahead of last year’s figures.

In the three months to the end of August the combined retail sites added 12,854 new customers with an average order value of £37.71. This was down on the previous quarter, which saw 17,829 new customers with order values averaging £41, and was perhaps a reflection of a reduced advertising budget from no more than 27% to less than 25% of sales.

Green said that while Goodprint was attracting an increasing volume of visits the conversion rate had fallen since last year prompting the company to implement new products to "enhance customer experience".

Elsewhere in the group revenue from Tangent Snowball continued to decline with H1 sales falling to £4.4m (2012: £5.85) although the company said that the business was “on track” and that reduced revenues had not affected operating profit, with gross margin reaching 88% (2012: 76%). The division is forecasted to make a “significant improvement” in the second half of 2013 with new client wins including the international Papa Johns franchise and a five-year extension on its existing Labour party contract. The company is forecasting higher full year profits than 2012 on lower sales.

Revenue from the group’s estate agency marketing business was down marginally in H1 to £3.48m (2012: £3.5), although had experienced a boost in the last four months of the period. The division is expected to beat 2012 revenue and profits, with renewed focus on the government’s Help to Buy scheme helping to boost figures, the company said.

Tangent on Demand revenues increased 9% year-on-year to £1.16m during H1, following successful marketing of its new high-end packaging products and a new collaboration with Printed.com for online access to the service’s signage and display products.

The company stated that in light of current performance and the improving economy, it was confident about February’s full year figures.

Share price rose 1.5 pence to 9 pence as the figures were released.