Judges Scientific, the AIM-listed scientific instruments group, has said that full-year profits for 2013 are now predicted to beat forecasts.In a short trading update on Wednesday, the company said that sales and margins since the end of the first half have been "satisfactory".The recent acquisition of Scientifica, which supplies products to electrophysiology and imaging researchers, has traded in line with its estimates."Order intake has shown an improvement since the second quarter but remains subdued as we approach 2014," the group said.Nevertheless, it now "expects that adjusted earnings per share for the full year to exceed market expectations".Judges Scientific owns a number of businesses which produce instruments used in many different sectors, including telecommunications, semiconductor production and digital imaging.The stock was up 2.31% at 1,770p in early trading.BC