Insight doubles profits in Q2

Resale giant grows revenue by almost a quarter as US hardware sales fuel impressive results

Valuable Insight: The reseller grew global sales to $1.3bn in Q2

Strong hardware sales in the US, coupled with software success in EMEA, helped Insight Enterprises post healthy top and bottom line growth in the second quarter of 2010.

The reseller's global sales for the three months to the end of June rose 23 per cent annually to $1.3bn (£818m). Earnings from operations more than doubled to $44.7m.

EMEA posted the strongest sales growth, with revenue up 28 per cent year on year to $359.2m. Software provided 72 per cent of turnover – up from 68 per cent in Q2 2009 – with sales growing by more than a third.

Insight's North American revenue in Q2 rose 21 per cent annually to $865.5m, with hardware providing more than three-fifths of total sales. The reseller's Asia-Pacific business, which is almost entirely software-focused, posted sales of $52.9m, a rise of a quarter on 2009.

Insight claimed its performance during the first half of 2010 has been " stronger than expected". For the rest of the year, the firm is forecasting " continued strong demand for hardware technology in North America".

However, this will be "partially offset by a decline in sales of services in 2010, due to the completion of a significant services engagement in 2009 that has not yet been fully replaced in 2010."

The reseller also indicated that it faces an effective tax rate of between 36 and 39 per cent this year, up from 26 per cent in 2009. Insight's chief executive Ken Lamneck claimed his firm has seen market conditions improve in 2010.

"I am happy to report that continued strengthening of IT demand globally coupled with operating leverage led to strong year-to-year growth in both sales and profitability in our business," he said. "We are extremely pleased with these results and are proud of our team's execution during the quarter."