Midwich cautious after bumper 2009

AV distributor posts six per cent sales rise but fears post-election spending crunch

Public sector spending could be squeezed after general election, Midwich said

Distributor Midwich struck a cautious note in its 2009 annual accounts, despite posting a rise in sales and almost doubling profit.

The Diss-based distributor, which works across the audiovisual (AV), printing, consumer electronics, displays and auto-ID spheres, saw turnover for the year to 31 December power up six per cent to £173.6m.

It was a relatively quiet year for the normally acquisitive firm, although Midwich did snap up small Irish AV outfit Square One in August.

Pre-tax profit mushroomed by 88 per cent to £6.4m, which the firm put down to its strategy of focusing on its core activities.

Although trading so far in 2010 had been “strong”, Midwich warned that market conditions could worsen after 6 May.

“It is expected that actions taken to reduce government borrowing after the general election may have some impact on parts of the business later this year,” the firm stated.

“Midwich will aim to mitigate such impact by continuing to look for new growth opportunities, and providing consistently high service.”

The firm, which claims to be a top-two distributor for most of its vendor partners, also revealed that dividends of £1.75m were paid out during the year, down from £2.25m in 2008.