Lighting specialist FW Thorpe (TFW) made further inroads into overseas markets last year by acquiring Dutch lighting group Lightronics in April. But the group's core Thorlux Lighting business is internationalising on its own, too - even without Lightronics' contribution, export revenues were up a fifth on the previous year.
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However, chairman Andrew Thorpe - grandson of the company's founder - said performance overseas was "patchy in nature", as while some of its agents increased their business others reduced it. Mr Thorpe said this reinforced the need for the group to establish its own offices abroad. Nonetheless, group operating profit grew nearly 17 per cent to £13.7m.