Rich product pickings propel SCC to record year

Birmingham-based IT group hints at further 'targeted acquisitions' as it unveils record full-year revenues of £2.2bn

A rebound in product sales propelled SCC to record results in its fiscal 2019.

The reseller and services hulk, which operates in the UK, France, Spain and Romania, saw operating profits rise 1.7 per cent to a record £28.2m in the 12 months ending 31 March 2019.

Group revenue rose by 18 per cent to a new high of £2.2bn, which SCC attributed to "continued demand for businesses seeking outsourced and cost-effective solutions for cloud and digital services".

The record numbers came despite "transformational investment" in its IT systems during the period, the Birmingham-based IT group said.

In contrast to previous years, it was SCC's traditional resell business that fuelled the top-line growth, with product sales up by 20 and 23 per cent in France and the UK, respectively.

Services, which have been a focus area for SCC in recent year, grew a more muted four per cent to £337m.

That tallies with recent results from SCC's arch rival Computacenter, which saw product growth outstrip services in its most recent financial year. ‘Technology sourcing' sales grew 21 per cent to £3.18bn in its year to 31 December 2018, while services inched up by 1.5 per cent to £1.18bn.

Breaking it down by geography, SCC's largest territory, France, grew revenues 18 per cent to €1.5bn.

SCC did not split out UK revenues in its press release, although results filed by Specialist Computer Centres plc on Companies House shows an operating profit of £18m on revenues that rose 15 per cent to £681m.

Spanish sales rose 11.4 per cent.

Having gobbled audiovisual specialist AVS and managed print player Hobs Onsite last year, SCC will continue to seek "targeted acquisition opportunities," CEO James Rigby said.

"The focus across the group will remain on the successful strategy of growing our services business and developing the right value adding product business for our customers to help them unleash their potential," he added.