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Print management group TripleArc reduced losses over the first half and said a number of new contracts should help to mitigate slack demand elsewhere.

"We have signed six new contracts, including the recently announced AOL contract, so far in 2006. This has helped mitigate the ongoing decline in demand from the retail and business forms markets," said TripleArc.

The group reported a pre-tax loss of £1.97m for the six months to June compared with a loss of £2.46m a year earlier, while turnover fell to £22.96m from £30.07m, as it sold the high sales/low profit Stream business in March.

NetServices, the broadband and dial up services provider, today said the greater than expected loss it flagged up last month comes as a result of the wave of 'free broadband' promotions earlier this year.

The group has forecast an underlying loss of £2.3m with an expected pre-tax loss of £3m, following an exceptional bad debt charge of some £750k. Turnover is expected to total no less than £16m.

Despite a difficult start to last year, consumer goods group Jourdan said an improved second half saw sales remain flat as it moved into the black.

Jourdan said pre-tax profit totalled £872,000 for the year to June compared with a loss of £341,000 last time. Sales fell 1% to £23.2, while earnings per share totalled 18.1p from a loss of 10.9p last time.

The group said it has maintained the positive trend. "Jourdan's results for the first two months of the current year give credibility to the directors' expectation of improved results for the full year."

Spacelabs Healthcare, the patient monitoring solutions firm, announced a solid set of results and said it was continuing to look for suitable acquisitions.

The group reported an 88% rise in income before tax and minority interests to $13.2m from $7.0m a year earlier, on revenues up 12% to $220.6m compared with $195.7m last time.

Chief executive Deepak Chopra said, "While we are focused on growing the business organically we continue to explore strategic acquisitions of complementary technologies and companies globally."