Arrow hits profit mark as sales falter

Enterprise Computing arm suffers 11 per cent sales slump after acquisitions and currency effects factored in

Arrow Electronics hit its Q1 profit expectations despite a sales slump at its Enterprise Computing (ECS) arm.

The global distributor saw net profit in its fiscal Q1 to 29 March rise 37 per cent year on year to $107.1m (£63m), above the midpoint of its guidance.

But revenue rose just five per cent to $5.08bn. That works out as a decrease of one per cent allowing for currency fluctuations and acquisitions – such as that of security VAD Computerlinks – and was below Arrow's expectations.

Business conditions for enterprise computing arm Arrow ECS were mixed, although demand did improve in April, said chief executive Michael Long.

At $1.66bn, ECS' sales were flat year on year but fell 11 per cent allowing for acquisitions and currency effects. Storage and servers suffered lower demand globally, while software and security grew in both the US and Europe, Arrow said.

Components sales rose seven per cent year on year to $3.42bn, or four per cent adjusted for acquisitions and currency effects.

At $124m, cashflow generated from operations in Q1 exceeded internal targets, said chief financial officer Paul J Reilly.

"The highly effective management of our balance sheet and related strong cashflow provided us with the opportunity to both deploy capital toward our strategic initiatives and return approximately $75m to shareholders through our stock repurchase programme," Reilly said.