In a trading update issued following its financial year-end, Wyndeham said: "Maintaining the strong start to the year announced at the interim results... the board is confident that the results for the full year will be in line with the top end of market expectations."

Analysts are predicting pre-tax profits of 7.4m-7.5m on sales of around 147m.

This would see the group return to the levels of profitability it was achieving two years ago.

Wyndeham said Graphic Facilities had been "fully and successfully integrated into the group" and that the centralised sales structure had resulted in growth in its key target sectors of magazines, commercial literature and direct mail.

Wyndeham won a 50m, five-year print contract with Haymarket, publisher of PrintWeek, at the beginning of the year. The news was less good last month when it learned that it would lose some of its high-end repro work for publisher IPC following a review at the group.

Wyndeham also expects to benefit from its ongoing reorganisation and rationalisation efforts this year. Earlier this month it ceased manufacturing at small sheetfed wing Wyndeham Keyne Print, with the loss of around 30 jobs.

Shares rose 5p to 140p on the news. Over the past week the share price of rival St Ives has fallen by 18.5p, or 5%, closing at 353.25p yesterday.

Story by Jo Francis