Computacenter and Logicalis in numbers showdown

Computacenter lauds UK performance while Logicalis hit by World Cup-induced slowdown

You wait an age for an interim management statement from a top VAR, and then two come along at once.

Computacenter and Logicalis parent Datatec gave updates to the market this morning, with the former reporting solid UK progress and the latter experiencing a World Cup-induced sales slowdown.

Based on unaudited financial information for the six months ending 30 June 2014, Computacenter saw first-half revenue hike two per cent, or four per cent in constant currency.

But while the London-listed firm said it was pleased with its performance in the UK - where revenue hiked 14 per cent year on year - its copy book was blotted by its overseas operations.

Computacenter admitted it was "somewhat surprised and disappointed" by the performance of its product business in Germany, where total revenue fell 10 per cent year on year, while it conceded it is "uncompetitive" in France. Computacenter expects to incur a charge of about £9m to address its Gallic cost base, at the top of the range it announced in April.

"For the first half of 2014 Computacenter will show progress over the same period for last year," the firm stated. "This has been delivered by a strong performance in the UK held back somewhat by the performance in France and Germany much of which was as expected."

Meanwhile, rival Logicalis saw an eight per cent fall in sales over the four-month period covered in Johannesburg- and London-listed parent Datatec's interim management statement.

Datatec put this largely down to the World Cup, which it said had led Brazilian telecoms and service provider customers to suspend installation activities on their networks.

"While Logicalis has experienced a slow-down in trading, we remain confident, based on the significant backlog of business, that trading will recover in the second half," said Datatec chief executive Jens Montanana.

With distribution arm Westcon enjoying an 11 per cent sales hike during the period, Datatec said its forecasts for full-year 2015 remain unchanged.