Growth of 11.5 per cent this year and a 43.4 per cent increase in operating profit confirm technotrans' "growth trajectory", the company says.

It reported a revenue increase to 91.6 million Euros and profits of 6.8 million for the first nine months of the current financial year, together with the highest revenue for a quarter since 2009.

Chief executive of technotrans AG Henry Brickenkamp voiced the prospect of slightly exceeding the targets for the year: "We remain on a successful and steady growth trajectory," he said. "The third quarter brought especially good progress - the company achieved revenue of 31.3 million Euros, its highest quarterly figure since the financial crisis of 2009, and operating profit (EBIT) climbed 33 per cent to 2.3 million Euros, with the corresponding margin coming to 7.5 percent."

Activities outside the printing industry again made a significant contribution to the positive business performance. Group companies active in that area achieved organic revenue growth of 20 per cent, so that the segment now accounts for 36 per cent of total revenue.

"This development underlines the enduring success of the group's strategic direction," said Brickenkamp.

And he said business in the printing industry developed equally well, with revenue up 7.5 per cent.

The Technology segment grew revenue 14 per cent during the nine-month period, with contributions from all relevant sub-segments, whether mechanical and plant engineering, the growth segments or the printing industry. Activities in the laser industry and also in the fields of proprietary technologies for temperature control, filtration, cooling lubricant preparation and spray lubrication achieved higher revenue shares. The profit from operations of 1.8 million Euros contrasted with the 40,000 Euros loss in the prior-year period.

"In view of the highly satisfactory organic growth, we have set ourselves the target of slightly bettering our forecast by the end of the year," Brickenkamp said. Both the revenue target of 120 million Euros and the net profit target of an EBIT margin of 73 per cent "could be just exceeded". The actual result will depend on whether certain projects are completed as planned or run into the next financial year.