Trifast (www.trifast.com), the East Sussex manufacturer of mechanical fasteners, reports that its interim pre-tax profits grew by 43.9% to £7.1 million in the six months to 30 September, while group revenues rose by 5.1% to £78.1 million.

Since then, Trifast has extended its European presence through the acquisition of German industrial distributor Kuhlmann.

Chairman Malcolm Diamond said: “In our quest to add to the momentum of our organic growth, we were very pleased at the start of the second half to establish a strong domestic distribution and logistics facility in Germany through our acquisition of the well-respected Kuhlmann business.

"Overall, taking into account the current business climate we are operating in, the board remains optimistic about the group’s prospects and continues to expect its trading for the financial year as a whole to be in line with expectations.

"Organic growth remains only part of our strategy; we will continue to look for our next strategic acquisition to complement the group’s existing global, product and sector footprint.”