Bell Microproducts dragged its European operation back into profit in the first quarter, results released yesterday showed.

The hardware distributor turned in revenues of $867m in the quarter ending March 31, up eight per cent on the year. Net income was $2.5m, compared to last year's $4.4m. This meant earnings per share of $0.08, or $0.10 after nasty charges were removed.

Revenues were impacted to the tune of $27m, compared to the previous year, because of currency translation with the euro and pound. The company said it had pulled the European operation back into profit through “revenue growth, higher gross margin, and the benefits of cost control”.

Second quarter revenues should come in between $810m and $840m, with earnings of $0.07 to $0.11. ®

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