FW Thorpe (AIM:TFW), the professional lighting systems manufacturer, reported pre-tax profit of £32.4m for the year ended 30 June, up 2.5% from £31.6m a year earlier.
Revenue slipped 1.3% to £172.9m from £175.2m, a result the group called broadly in line given what it described as slow UK and EU general lighting markets where several competitors reported sizeable declines.
Basic earnings per share rose 9.4% to 23.72p from 21.69p.
Spanish emergency lighting brand Zemper lifted profits by more than 40%, Dutch business Famostar delivered further profitable growth, and cleanroom specialist Solite exceeded £1m of operating profit for the first time.
Those gains were largely offset by weaker results at Lightronics in the Netherlands and German subsidiary SchahlLED, both now subject to recovery plans, while Philip Payne also reported lower performance after reduced order intake from a major customer.
"Achieving a modest profit improvement in these market conditions gives me confidence that the Group's companies remain generally in good shape," said chairman Mike Allcock.
Net cash generated from operating activities fell to £30.8m from £33.2m, reflecting a working capital shift late in the year, while cash and short-term financial assets stood at £55.4m.
The board recommended a final dividend of 5.53p per share, up 3.2% from 5.36p, taking the total payout for the year to 7.34p against 7.12p previously.
The company bought back £11.8m of shares during the year and said orders are running ahead of the prior year at the start of 2026/27, though general trading performance remains marginally lower.