Record results exceed Computacenter hopes

The UK?s largest reseller has reasons to be cheerful as results surpassed predictions for the year

Computacenter released record end-of-year financial results last week, outgrowing its own predictions for 1996.

Turnover at the UK?s biggest reseller reached #803 million for the year ended 31 December ? a 60 per cent increase on 1995?s turnover of #503 million. Profit grew by 153 per cent, from #15 million last year to #38 million for 1996.

Computacenter CEO Mike Norris said the results were a cause for celebration.

?We are delighted with the company?s performance,? he said. ?The PC is becoming a standard platform for larger organisations as evidenced by the number of new applications specifically written for the desktop ? a trend which resulted in a major increase in our PC sales to 245,000 units compared with 140,000 sold in 1995.?

Martin Hellawell, the company?s general manager of corporate development, predicted in November that turnover for the year would reach the #700 million mark.

Commenting on the results, he said: ?The figures are much better than we had hoped for. We have been investing heavily in our services and logistics functions and we are now reaping the rewards of investments made three years ago.?

Hellawell said that the firm has no plans to float and will remain a private company. He added there were no plans to go on the acquisition trail.

Managed services will be a key area for growth in the coming year. ?We?re now investing in our consultative arm,? Hellawell said.

Brian Burke, an analyst at Graydon UK, said that being a privately owned company had contributed to Computacenter?s success.

?Their success is down to a number of things: they have good national coverage and won some key contracts last year,? he said.

?Retaining control as a private company is very important. They don?t need to raise cash so there?d be no point in them going public.?