Total revenue at the firm, which bought customer insight agency Snowball earlier this year, was down to £8.51m from £8.84m in the first half of 2008.

Underlying operating profit fell 57% from £0.81m to £0.35m as a result of the acquisition, but gross profit was up slightly to £4.06m from £4.03m.

Tangent’s joint CEOs Nicholas Green and Timothy Green (both pictured) said that the Snowball business would be “taken on” by the group’s data and direct marketing business, Tangent Direct.

“While direct mail continues to perform well for key audience segments,” the CEOs said, “we have begun to offer a more integrated approach, inviting our clients to embrace all channels and methods as part of a customer/supporter-led contact strategy.”

Tangent added that the integration of the Snowball business “increases the depth of our offering and provides an excellent base for future growth”, and that it was optimistic for the remainder of the year after seeing client budgets return to “all key areas of the business”.