Profitable Ingram on hunt for acquisitions
Distributor looking for firms to bring skillsets on board
Broadline distributor Ingram Micro has confirmed it is on the acquisition path after announcing profitable results for its second quarter 2004.
The firm posted worldwide turnover of $5.7bn for the quarter ended 3 July, an 11 per cent increase on Q2 2003. Its total profit was $25.9m, compared with $19.6m in Q2 last year.
Despite various reports claiming that the European IT market, particularly the mobile space, is heading for a slowdown, Ingram saw European sales increase by 18 per cent to $2.1bn. The region accounted for 37 per cent of its total turnover.
Hans Koppen, president of Ingram Micro Europe, said the UK, Germany and France were the "main contributors" to Ingram's growth.
"If you look at the desktop, peripherals and networking markets they don't change that much, but we are doing a lot of business in notebooks in Europe. It is a very strong area," he said.
Koppen added that the firm expects "more of the same" in the next quarter.
"We are confident we will have a good Q3 and are expecting continued growth in the software market, as well as in notebooks and the mobility space," he said.
Koppen added that Ingram will be looking to expand its reach into the networking space, and aims to boost its consumer electronics market share.
"As we try to grow our market in Europe we will look for any opportunity, whether it is organic or acquisitive. As we did in the US with the acquisition of Nimax, we will not be going for the 'big bang' acquisitions but rather for firms that can help us get the necessary skillsets on board," Koppen said.
Rachel Power, analyst at Canalys, said Ingram looks in good shape for the future.
"Europe has done very well for Ingram, partly because of the strong currency, and partly because the European IT industry has come back a little bit. Ingram has kept a close eye on cost control and has executed a good management strategy by making savings in the right places."
Separately, Ingram US senior vice-president Donna Grothjan has left the firm "for personal reasons". Ingram will split her duties among existing executives rather than hire a direct replacement.