Computacenter down on falling profits

Interims disappoint

By John Oates • Get more from this author

Posted in IT Channel, 28th August 2008 08:21 GMT

Computacenter shares are down more than seven per cent this morning after the firm reported a 14 per cent fall in profits in the first six months of the year.

Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2008 showed the reseller increased revenues by 7.8 per cent to £1.25bn, thanks mainly to currency movements.

But profit before tax fell 14.2 per cent to £11m. Computacenter said the first six weeks of the year, especially in the UK, were very weak but the second quarter saw an improvement. Earnings per share grew 10.6 per cent to 5.2p.

Turnover in the UK was up 5.5 per cent to £708.1m thanks to sales to medium-sized enterprises and software and consulting business.

Computacenter said Microsoft Office 2007 and Vista were "beginning to build momentum among corporate clients" and it had signed a major pharmeceutical company "to implement one of the first significant deployments of Microsoft's Vista in the UK". The reseller also signed a 3,000 seat deal with Bentley Motors Ltd.

Losses in France were down 8.9 per cent to £1.9m.

Computacenter shares were down 7.41 per cent to 125p at the time of writing. Full results available here. ®

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