Interim profits at Domino Printing Sciences Plc have been hit by the on-going costs of employing extra staff last year to boost sales and marketing activities, particularly in the US, Germany and France. Unfortunately, subsequent growth has not matched investment, particularly following the devaluation of sterling it now costs relatively more per head to employ someone overseas. Pre-tax profits at the ink jet printer manufacturer fell 18.7% to UKP3.7m, although turnover rose 21.6% to UKP37.6m. But if overseas sales are calculated in local currencies, revenues actually increased by only 11%. Still, to demonstrate the board’s confidence in the group’s prospects it is recommending an interim dividend of 2.65 pence, a rise of 10% on the previous year. This confidence is based on the anticipated long-term results of strengthening the sales and marketing team and on the introduction of new products, such as the Codebox 3 ink jet printer. The company plans to release more products during the next 12 months. And it is still on the acquistion trail, looking for businesses to broaden its technology base, particularly in the industrial laser printer arena. This, according to finance director Roger Dye, hasn’t been developed as quickly as the medical and scientific markets. Domino is also interested in firms that would increase the range of products it sells to its existing customer base. Continental Europe is now the group’s biggest market, and although fortunes were mixed, revenues overall increased 21.9% to UKP18.1m. France is the largest revenue earner, having benefitted from both the sales and marketing investment mentioned above and from the problems of rival, Image SA. Dye said Image tried to grow too fast, and while it won market share initially, profits suffered as a result. The group has since been forced to cut costs and lay off staff, while Domino has managed to pick up some of its work. On the downside, both the German and Dutch markets remain difficult. While other regions are experiencing growth of between 10% and 15%, these are not. Germany, in particular, has not proved to be the springboard into Central and Eastern Europe it once seemed. So, Dye said, attempts will be made to improve efficiency here, while future investment will be concentrated in other faster growing markets from now on. Also disappointing in view of investments made there, the US failed to perform as well as expected – chairman Gerald Dennis says customers have been deferring investment decisions, while assessing confidence in the new Washington administration. The UK market, however, began to experience the green shoots of recovery, with turnover up 9.2% to UKP5.7m, while China and Taiwan both showed very strong sales growth.