Profits at hi-tech firm Pace shot up 61 per cent in the past year to more than £44 million, but bosses have warned growth will slow in the coming 12 months.

The Saltaire company saw turnover rise by 39 per cent to £523.6 million, in the 12 months ending June 2 this year. The annual report published today also reveals a one-off payment of £4.5 million to cover the closure of its manufacturing plant in the area.

Workers who face redundancy from the company were upset that they still face losing their jobs despite the jump in profits.

Pace is looking to overseas markets for continued growth amid predictions that the UK market is nearing its maturity.

Finance director John Dyson said: "The UK has not reached saturation point yet, but it is up to more than 30 per cent penetration, and, particularly with Sky, all the new customers will be completely new rather than converting from analogue to digital. Our growth will be affected by the economic slowdown around the world but we still think the US market will grow from 16 million to 18 million boxes and we hope to ship more than 700,000 of those."

Predictions of growth and soaring profits are sure to anger many of the 470 workers who will be made redundant when the manufacturing plant closes in mid-August.

But Mr Dyson said robust strategies were necessary to sustain growth. While manufacturing is being contracted out to overseas companies its number of staff in the research and development team has grown by 61 per cent to 633.

The company is also involved in a number of legal disputes over the right to patents.

Mr Dyson said: "Pace as a small business is vulnerable to attacks from bigger companies who claim rights to intellectual property used in our products, which we deny. But we have been successful in settling all the claims at less expense than we had budgeted for."

Pace shares were 22.5p to 338.5p this morning on the back of the annual results.

The news comes just two months after Pace announced it was closing its manufacturing plant in Saltaire with the loss of nearly 500 jobs.

Carolynn Fullwood, 47, of Coach Road, Baildon, a married mother of two grown up children and one of those who is to lose their job, said: "It's sickening to know they're making so much profit when we don't even know what our redundancy package is going to be."

And former Pace agency worker, Christopher Tensley, 35, of Idle, who had been hoping to get a full time job at the company before May's announcement, said: "It makes you feel quite angry to know they've made so much when you've just been kicked out and you know in 12 months time that their profits are going to be even higher because of it."