Coding and marking technology group warned it remained “cautious” about future conditions and said sales in parts of Europe and China for the 12 months to October were below their level in the previous year, as customers cut capital spending.
Pre-tax profits dropped by 6% to £53.9m (2011: £57.4m) on revenues which slipped 1% to £312.1m.
The company had already said in March that it was unlikely to see sales growth this year, due to the economic problems in Europe and the Chinese slowdown.
Its China sales were also affected by a counterfeit manufacturer passing off its printers under the Domino brand, causing a “distraction” for the local team.
Group managing director Nigel Bond: “Our businesses in the USA, most of Asia, the Middle East and Africa have all made good progress but in parts of Europe and in China sales were below last year. Market conditions have been more difficult and we continue to see extended sales cycles for equipment. The after market business has continued to perform robustly and while capital spend among customers is reduced compared to last year, consumable sales grew by 6 per cent, in line with our expectations.
“We have been pleased with the performance of our newer product lines and have once again recorded good volume growth in Laser, Thermal Transfer Overprinters and Thermal Ink Jet. Our new digital label press, the K600i, exceeded our sales targets in the year and, following a successful beta trial, we were pleased to launch the N600i full colour label press at PackExpo in the USA during October. We already have first orders for this product.
“Investment in Research and Development was increased to £16.7 million. We have launched a number of new printer and fluids products over the course of the year and have made further progress towards the introduction of a new generation of printers based upon common technology architecture.”
In both China and the UK, expansion projects have been placed on hold, but Domino said it will shortly start work in India to increase its capacity.
Domino Printing Sciences full year results for 2012
2012 2011
Pre-tax profit £53.9m £57.4m
Revenue £312.1m £314.1m
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