Arrow upbeat after 'outstanding fourth quarter'

Distribution heavyweight closes out robust year in style

Distribution giant Arrow closed a solid 2013 with a stonking quarter in which sales and profitability both grew nicely.

For the three months to the end of the year, the firm saw adjusted global sales grow 8.4 per cent year on year to $6.25bn (£3.84bn). Components sales spiked 5.8 per cent to almost $3.5bn, while revenue at the distributor's value-focused ECS arm increased 11.9 per cent to about $2.8bn.

Adjusted global operating income in Q4 rose almost 30 per cent on Q4 2012 to more than $265m. This equates to a rise in operating margins from 3.56 to 4.25 per cent.

Across the whole year Arrow's worldwide turnover jumped three per cent to $22.2bn, with operational income rising 1.7 per cent to $822.9m. The firm generated some $451m in cashflow from operations during the year, which chief financial officer Paul Reilly claimed "meaningfully exceeded... our target".

Chief executive Michael Long added: "An outstanding fourth quarter capped off a good year for Arrow. Both sales and non-GAAP earnings per share were ahead of our expectations, and we, again, generated strong cashflow. Operating margins grew in both businesses year over year, and we posted record operating income in the fourth quarter."

Arrow expects sales for the new year's opening quarter to come in between $5.1bn and $5.5bn. This compares with revenue in the corresponding period last year of $4.85bn.