Ingram leaps ahead with profit

Distributor's chief executive admits that he gets paid with options. Victoria Hall and James Harding report.

Ingram Micro has re-emphasised its position as the leading globalns. Victoria Hall and James Harding report. distributor with the revelation that it has increased first quarter earnings by 40 per cent.

Profit leapt from $40.4 million in last year's Q1 to $56.5 million in the period ended 4 April. Turnover for the distributor was also up 41 per cent to $5.15 billion.

As revealed exclusively in PC Dealer last week (29 April), Ingram is going head-to-head with vendors after setting up a white box manufacturing plant in Europe to sell PCs to its resellers.

The first plant is in Memphis, Tennessee and has a potential output capacity of two million PCs per year. The distributor is expected to build a further four manufacturing plants around the world.

Jerre Stead, chairman and chief executive of Ingram, admitted he commands a salary of zero dollars a year at the giant distributor.

He revealed his pay packet at the Hambrecht & Quist Technology Conference in San Francisco, where he told attendees he believes that employees - including himself - should be rewarded via a stake in the organisation.

'I have no salary and I operate with options,' he said. 'We reward every person in the company on their customer focus,' added Stead.

However, the distributor was pleased with its European growth, seeing a 55 per cent increase in sales in the region in the first quarter. President Jeffrey Rodek said: 'We're not finished, but we do feel good about where we are.'

He admitted that Ingram will make further acquisitions in Europe to bolster its position, and believes the consolidation of the market around two or three global distributors will be good for the overall IT industry.