Bell reports revenue stabilisation

Bell Micro has become the latest distributor to report a stabilisation in tech spending as it announced its preliminary second quarter sales.

Revenues for the three months to 30 June plunged 24 per cent on an annual comparison to approximately $708m (£434m).

However, on a quarter-on-quarter comparison revenues fell just one per cent, compared with a seven per cent drop between Q4 and Q1.

While Europe and Latin American sales decreased three per cent sequentially, North American revenues improved by five per cent.

“We saw signs of a stabilised demand for our products in the second quarter,” confirmed Bell chief executive Donald Bell.

Bell recently filed its annual reports for 2007 and 2008 and expects to file its Q1 and Q2 quarterly reports in the third quarter. This will bring it completely up to date as the storage and computing distributor eyes a return to the stock market.

Following efforts to trim its cost base, Bell said its professional fee spending has halved since Q4. Operating expenses excluding professional fees have fallen by a fifth.

“We continue to be cautiously optimistic that stronger seasonal demand and a significant reduction in our operating expenses, especially professional fees, will contribute to an improved second half of 2009,” said Bell.