Avnet's TS business returns to growth after two years

First organic sales rise for eight quarters, although EMEA sales still sliding

Global distributor Avnet Technology Solutions (TS) has posted organic growth for the first time in two years, despite suffering another fall in EMEA sales.

For its second quarter ending 28 December, Avnet TS - which focuses on enterprise hardware, software and services - saw revenue rise by eight per cent year on year to $3.27bn, topping expectations.

Meanwhile, Avnet's Electronics Marketing arm also beat estimates as it grew sales by 13.1 per cent year on year to $4.15bn, meaning Avnet's total sales rose by 10.8 per cent to $7.42bn. Overall, its net profit hiked by 12.6 per cent to $163.9m.

Stripping out the contribution of recent acquisitions, Avnet TS' sales were up 3.8 per cent year on year - the first organic sales rise the division has posted for eight quarters.

But this was largely down to strong demand in the Americas region, where sales pogoed eight per cent organically to $1.86bn.

In contrast, EMEA saw sales fall by 2.9 per cent both on an organic and reported basis, something chief executive Rick Hamada flagged up in his quarterly statement.

"While we are pleased to see year-over-year growth return to TS at the global level, it is not consistent at this time across all regions," he said.

"We remain confident that our continuing investments in higher growth markets, including converged solutions, software and professional services, will allow us to develop and deliver incremental value to our partners."

The disappointing EMEA figures come shortly after a shake-up in Avnet TS' UK management.

Hamada said he was encouraged by Avnet's overall performance given the distributor had beaten expectations for both revenue and earnings.

It expects Q3 sales to come in at between $6.6bn and $7.2bn.