Midwich plans to 'at least' match 2017's M&A tally this year

CEO Stephen Fenby talks through M&A road map as the firm publishes FY2017 results

Midwich's CEO hopes to "at least" match 2017's M&A tally this year after the print and AV distributor posted glowing full-year financial results.

Revenues for the year ending 31 December surged by 27.5 per cent year on year to £471.94m, while adjusted operating profit, which excludes M&A costs and costs related to Midwich's IPO, reached €25m (£22m), up 35 per cent on the previous year.

The UK, which represents around 60 per cent of Midwich's total business, enjoyed a 15 per cent revenue jump to £283.7m, while adjusted operating profit grew by 25 per cent.

The AV and print distributor debuted on the Alternative Investment Market on 6 May 2016 and has made no secret of its ambitions to acquire across the continent in the years to come.

The firm leapt into the Iberian market for the first time by acquiring €21m-turnover AV player Earpro last March and landed in the Netherlands through snapping up €30m-turnover visual player Gebroeders van Domburg in September. It closed 2017 with a deal on its home turf, acquiring Letchworth-based audio VAD Sound Technology.

Midwich CEO Stephen Fenby told CRN sister publication Channelnomics Europe that the firm hopes to "at least" match in 2018 the M&A tally set last year. He added that Midwich would focus on European M&A, but did not rule out opportunities from further afield.

"We bought three businesses last year and I expect us to continue with our acquisition programme. We have a good pipeline of opportunities," he said.

"It is so difficult to tell [how many companies Midwich will acquire this year], it depends on how they fall. I would at least like to do the same number this year as we did last year. We have the opportunity there to do them. If we can do the deals, get them executed, then I certainly hope to keep that momentum going."

The AV distributor's German operation - a subsidiary called Kern & Stelly - broke the €100m barrier for the first time and now represents around 20 per cent of global revenues. Sales jumped 45 per cent to £93m, while operating profit similarly increased by 22 per cent to £4.7m due to a "relatively lean overhead".

Midwich claims that the subsidiary has seen high growth in the mainstream projector and large-format display segment, an area where price competition is high in the German market.

Commenting on the performance of its German operation, Fenby (pictured) said the subsidiary has a strong team that is setting an example for the rest of the group to follow.

"Although our business grew very strongly, we still gained share and we still have opportunities there. We have a fantastic German team with a really strong customer focus, really strong services mentality, and they build very good customer relationships and offer a fantastic service," he said.

Fenby said that Midwich's Iberian and Benelux businesses are still in their infancy, and hold a very narrow product portfolio in comparison with its other global operations. The CEO said efforts will be made this year to introduce new product categories to its newly acquired subsidiaries.

"The AV market is a robust market - the indicators are that it is still growing at a good rate, so plenty of opportunities to develop business there. It seems to be quite robust - there is a replacement cycle, but there's a lot of new product innovation coming through in that marketplace, and some big manufactures with a strong investment and product development offering," he said.

Fenby named Samsung, LG, Epson and Samsung-owned entity Harman as key vendors for Midwich.

The print and AV distributor is now present across the UK, Ireland, France, Australasia, Germany, Iberia and Benelux.