Computacenter cheers rebound in product sales

Surge in product sales drive top line growth for UK's largest corporate reseller

Computacenter saw UK product sales soar 20 per cent in Q1

Computacenter has reported a rebound in product sales, particularly in its native UK.

While the London-listed firm sees itself increasingly as a services player, it revealed that strong sales of kit have driven a surge in its top line in 2010.

According to unaudited financial information in an interim management statement released this morning, Computacenter saw Q1 revenue rise seven per cent year on year to £634.4m.

Product sales were up 12 per cent in Q1 excluding acquisitions, disposals and currency movements. In contrast, services sales grew by two per cent.

In the UK, product sales were up by a whopping 20 per cent in Q1 excluding the disposal of distribution arm CCD. Although this was flattered by one large project, a growth rate of over 10 per cent has been maintained into Q2, Computacenter said.

“After a challenging 2009 for our product business, we saw a strong rebound in Q1 2010, particularly in the UK,” the firm stated.

“Whilst it is not certain that these growth rates can be maintained throughout the year, the signs are encouraging. Our services business has seen slower growth than we have become used to, but we are expecting this to improve as the year progresses.”