Hi-Tec, the English sports and outdoor footwear company, lifted its sales by just 1 percent to about $220 million in 2007, as it concentrated on reorganization and improvements in its profitability. This drive prompted the divestment of activities that had generated annual sales of about $10 million. Taking only continuing operations into consideration, Hi-Tec’s sales increased by about 6 percent last year. The brand did particularly well in France, Spain, Portugal and South Africa, and it started to cash in more revenues from licensing deals signed in Asia over the last years. Moves to improve profits have paid off with an impressive increase of almost 2 percentage points in Hi-Tec’s net profit margin for 2007. Business picked up briskly in the first quarter of this year, when Hi-Tec reported a sales increase of 21 percent compared with the same period last year. This was chiefly attributed to growing demand for Hi-Tec’s outdoor products.