Computacenter's share price is up five per cent to £1.89 following better-than-expected interim results.

Overall revenue rose 4.1 per cent to £1.16bn over the first six months of the year, and profits were up 12.1 per cent to £12.8m.

But despite strong performance in France and Germany, the company's UK operations fared badly. UK revenues excluding acquisitions fell 1.8 per cent to £649.2m, and profits dropped 27.9 per cent to £11.9m.

Computacenter attributed the decline to price erosion and the loss of key service contracts in 2006, but remained optimistic about UK performance.

"In the UK, despite a weaker performance, we have made good progress in transforming our business in response to some fundamental changes in our markets," said Computacenter chairman Ron Sandler.

"We remain committed to translating these adjustments into consistent performance improvements."