Océ, the Dutch printer and copier company, said on Monday that 2006 had been “a year of ups and downs” in which its core printer division disappointed, but a US acquisition proved vital in lifting otherwise flat revenues.

Noting it would be “crucial for profitability” to sell more printers in 2007, Rokus van Iperen, chief executive, drew comfort from a fourth-quarter recovery, which lifted underlying group operating profit 38 per cent in that period, from €35.4m to €48.7m.