STAMP seller Stanley Gibbons has said its adjusted profit before tax lifted 44 per cent to £7.5 million in the year to the end of March, after contributions from the recent acquisitions of antique houses Noble Investments and Mallett.

It added that the collectible items market "remains buoyant", as evidenced by the highest price achieved for a single stamp in June last year, the 1 cent magenta from British Guiana, which sold for $9.5 million (£6 million).