Bytes blows hot and cold in H1 trading update

The VAR expects further momentum from cloud computing, cybersecurity, and AI demand

Bytes Technology Group has provided a trading update regarding its half year ended 31 August, sharing what the company referred to as resilient results amid a challenging macroenvironment.

Gross invoiced income (GII) is expected to reach £1.33bn, a 7.5 per cent increase from £1.23bn the year prior.

Gross profit is projected to be at least £82m, not far from the £82.1m figure shared at the same period last year.

Operating profit is expected to decline seven per cent, landing at around £33m, compared to £35.6m in H1 FY24.

Both these figures are in line with Bytes’ expectations for the first half of the year.

In H2 FY24, the group predicted gross profit to be at a similar level to last year and operating profit slightly lower in H1 FY25.

"We delivered a resilient performance, improving through the period as we successfully settled into our new corporate sales structure, and I am grateful to our teams for their ongoing efforts,” said Sam Mudd, CEO of Bytes.

Across the last few months, the has group evolved its corporate sales division, transitioning from a generalist model to a more specialised, customer-segment-focused team.

The company has “navigated a more challenging macroenvironment,” reportedly impacted by the transformation.

Despite expecting continued momentum into the second half of the year, driven by a strong pipeline, the UK’s third-largest VAR cautioned that comparatives will be impacted by a strong Q4 for the prior financial year.

Looking forward, Mudd expects to see further positive development from the opportunities brought by “the structural demand driver” she sees across different markets, such as cloud, computing, cybersecurity, and AI.

GII has been constantly on the up since Mudd became CEO of Bytes last year, following Neil Murphy’s resignation over a number of undisclosed trades.

The group expects to release its half-year results on 14 October.

The British VAR ranks third in CRN’s Top VARs list.