TechData cites Europe in Q2 earnings increase

TechData has posted a 29 per cent increase in earnings for its second quarter, ended 31 July. Company bosses singled out European sales growth as a key contributor to the Q2 figures. Overall, the company showed a $27.7 million profit, up from £21.5 million for its 1997 second quarter. That does not include an extra $12.5 million (pre-tax) made on the sale of German distributor Macrotron to Ingram Micro. Revenue for the second quarter was $2.21 billion, a big increase on the $1.55 billion the company recorded last year. TechData's own purchase of Macrotron led to a 233 per cent year-on-year increase in international sales for the quarter. Discounting Macrotron, international sales rose 30 per cent, compared with 19 per cent in the US. While the company's recent purchase of Computer 2000 did not affect the Q2 figures, TechData president and COO Tony Ibarguen believes its contribution in future will be significant. "Going forward, the balance [of international sales to domestic] will be even more different because of C2000," he said. In the second quarter, international sales accounted for 26 per cent of TechData's total sales, up from 11 per cent the previous year. Ibarguen said that was likely to increase further to 45 per cent in the second half of the year.®