Computacenter laments 'onerous' German contracts

But infrastructure and services giant is confident for the future following its interim H1 statement

Computacenter has been forced to take a hit in the pocket following the effects of "onerous" contracts in Germany, which caused it to restate some of its 2012 financials, but remains bullish about its future performance.

According to an interim statement released to the London Stock Exchange, it posted an "H1Group statutory loss before tax of £4.3m, after exceptional items", but said it had made provisions for any future losses over the German contracts' lifetime.

But despite the hit, the interim results for the six months ended June 2013 reveal revenue for the period hit £1.43bn, up from the £1.42bn posted in H1 2012, with adjusted profit before tax of £26.2m, up 1.9 per cent from the restated £25.8m in 2012.

With regard to services Computacenter appears bullish, with group services revenue increasing in constant currency terms by three per cent according to the statement, and a strong UK performance with an "encouraging managed services pipeline".

Mike Norris, chief executive of Computacenter, said: "Trading remains in line with the Board's expectations for the year, with the exception of the provisions we have made in respect of our three onerous contracts in Germany.

"We believe that the performance of the Group during the first half of 2013, excluding the three onerous contracts in Germany and the issues we have faced in our French business, has been one of our best ever. We are confident that we can maintain the momentum of our general success and solve our isolated issues."