Bell Microproducts in for a billion

Distributor posts strong preliminary results for its first quarter

Bell Microproducts is set to post a turnover in the region of $1bn for its first quarter 2007 after registering strong double-digit growth in Europe.

The distributor - which ditched its OpenPSL and Ideal brands in the UK (CRN, 27 November) - has announced that global sales will fall between $990m to $1.01bn. That would represent a growth of between 14 and 16 per cent on an annual comparison.

Europe, which is Bell’s largest division, is expected to show growth of 13 per cent, with North American revenues set to jump by more than 20 per cent.

Latin America, which is its smallest division, is on for growth of around 14 per cent.

Chief executive Don Bell, said in a statement: “We are pleased with our strong revenue growth again this quarter. Our international businesses in Europe and Latin America performed well in the first quarter and both generated double digit revenue growth.”

Disk drives continue to play a dominant role in Bell’s business model, contributing around 30 per cent to total revenues during the quarter.

Bell’s components and peripherals division expanded by around sixper cent year-on-year to represent 47 per cent of total sales.

Driven by strong computer platform and storage system sales, Bell’s solutions division is expected to grow 27 per cent to represent 53 per cent of the business.