Revenue for the year was up 7.2% to £133m from £124m while gross profit rose 6.6% to £64.3m from £60.3m. Headline pre-tax profit increased 10.2% to £7.1m from £6.4m.

However, reported profit before tax slumped from £4.9m last year to £1.4m, reflecting a £2.5m impairment charge and restructuring costs of £0.9m.

Cello’s research and consulting group “enjoyed another year of strong performance” with gross profit increasing to £41.3m from £36.9m and headline operating profit rising to £7.2m from £6.9m. Cello said that continued spend from its “large, long-term global client relationships” was the driving force behind the growth.

It said its strategic focus on the pharmaceutical sector had “continued to strengthen”, with pharma revenue now accounting for 50% of the division’s gross profit, up from 41.5% last year.

Commenting on the results, Cello chief executive Mark Scott (pictured) said: “We are confident that our focus on servicing international clients in the pharmaceutical and other high-margin sectors with our innovative digital offerings will continue to drive growth.”