A niche electronics manufacturer based on a Scottish island has said it will need to hire more staff following a recent upturn in fortunes.

Flexible Technology, which has its base on Bute, said it had added eight employees in recent months to take its total to 46.

The business had downscaled in recent years following the global recession with its staff working four-day weeks for a period.

But executive chairman Peter Timms, also the majority shareholder, said the business had been full-time throughout its most recent financial year, which ended in July 2014, and that had continued in the months since.

He said the company had benefited from steady work and the outlook was positive: "We are probably going to have to hire more again shortly if things continue."

According to Mr Timms getting people to come to Bute to work is "no more more difficult than it has always been".

He said: "Some people really thrive in this kind of environment while others see the ferry as some kind of drawbridge."

While Mr Timms said the business had made a small loss in the most recent financial year he suggested that was because of an investment in development during the first six months of that period.

He said: "The statutory accounts are a bit misleading as it doesn't look as though we had a terrific year but the second six months were much better than the first and that has continued into this year."

According to Mr Timms the business, which makes circuits for a range of industries including military, medical and consumer electronics, has benefitted from projects with new and existing customers although he admitted defence was still "difficult".

While the near £2m turnover recorded in the 2014 financial year is unlikely to be matched in the current one Mr Timms said things were progressing "nicely" and margins were much higher.

He said: "We are into profit and we expect to finish the year in profit so that is good.

"There are also ongoing programmes which are not yet cast in stone but give us the opportunity to continue to grow a bit."

Mr Timms pointed out many competitors in the UK and Europe have closed or been through insolvency events in the years following the financial crisis but Flexible Technology was "comfortable".

He said: "People see squillions of iPads and iPods being galloped up and produced by the yard in China but actually the professional side of the business has been really tough.

"We are fairly specialised but what we try and do is find technology solutions to customers' designs rather than producing millions of bits that they have designed for consumer products. We can't compete with China in that respect."

A share restructure during the year saw Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) being allocated some ordinary shares with Mr Timms taking on the economic development body's B shares, which do not have voting rights attached to them.

Mr Timms remains the majority owner. He is a former chairman of Caledonian MacBrayne was a board member of HIE Ventures, J&S Marine, Scottish Electronics Technology Group and Smartpower.

Flexible Technology was founded in 1980 and has a 24,000 square foot plant in Rothesay.