Top marks for EMEA in Q1 at Tech Data
Every region in EMEA posts better-than-planned earnings for the quarter
The EMEA region was given a gold star by Tech Data in Q1 after every trading region posted better-than-expected earnings over the quarter.
Overall in Q1, non-GAAP net profit at the distie rose seven per cent annually to $29.6m (£19.4m) on net sales which over the same period fell 12 per cent to $6.7bn.
In the Americas, net sales dropped six per cent to $2.3bn year on year while in EMEA, net sales slumped by 17 per cent over the same period to $3.5bn, although in euros, that figure actually grew five per cent.
Tech Data's chief financial officer Jeff Howells said the region enjoyed a storming start to the year.
"The region performed exceptionally well in the quarter, with the majority of our trade regions posting year-over-year sales improvement in local currency," he said on a call transcribed by Seeking Alpha. "Iberia and Italy were standouts with strong double-digit growth and France also reported solid growth.
"In addition, every European trade region posted above-planned earnings for the quarter. At the product level, Europe sales were fuelled by strong growth in mobility and broadline products, particularly notebooks and peripherals, as well as good growth in datacentre products including networking and storage."
Tech Data's chief executive Bob Dutkowsky said his efforts to improve Europe are paying off.
"On a regional basis, strong execution by our team in Europe supported by better-than-expected IT demand led to record Q1 sales and to record non-GAAP operating income in euros for the region," he said. "In Europe, we continued to see positive results from our efforts to realign and reallocate resources to higher-growth, more profitable business.
"We prioritised these efforts, first in Europe, beginning a couple of years ago and they've been under way in the Americas for only about a year. There is clearly more work to be done in both regions but the benefits of this transformation have not materialised as quickly as expected in the Americas. However, we remain committed to reallocating resources while continuing to evolve customer and product portfolios in order to gain profitable share and improve our operating performance in both regions."