ANKER, the Westhoughton-based suppliers of sales software systems to European retailers, announced that it expects to return to profit in 2005 after four years of heavy losses that saw its business shrink by more than a third.

The company, which floated on the Alternative Investment Market last December, reduced its pre-tax losses from £12.7 million to £5.87 million in the year to December 31.

Turnover, which had been close to £174 million in 2001, fell eight per cent to £109.5 million.