Computacenter posts jump in first-half profit as revenue exceeds £2bn

IT infrastructure and services provider Computacenter posted a 24.3% jump in first-half pre-tax profit on Friday as revenue grew and the company boosted its dividend per share.

In the six months to 30 June, adjusted pre-tax profit rose to £52.1m from £41.9m in the same period a year ago, as revenue increased 18.1% to just over £2bn, marking the first time this milestone has been reached in the first half.

Adjusted diluted earnings per share came in at 32.7p from 25.6p in 2017 and the company upped its interim dividend by 17.6% to 8.7p a share.

In terms of sectors, services revenue rose to £574.8m from £562.1m and technology sourcing revenue was up 26% to £1.43bn.

Computacenter said Germany delivered another strong performance, with revenue growth of 11.4% to €984.1m as ongoing demand for infrastructure replacement and refreshes and the implementation of new technologies drove its technology sourcing growth there.

Revenue in the UK business was up 29.5% to £858.1m, with strong revenue growth ahead of a "buoyant" market, particularly in software.

Chief executive Mike Norris said: "The board's outlook remains in line with its expectation which was upgraded on 12 July 2018. While the second half of the year is a more difficult comparison to the first half, due to the outstanding performance in H2 2017, 2018 is proving to be a year of significant progress particularly for our technology sourcing business.

"The buoyant market conditions are being driven by a number of factors specifically, but not limited to, the need to increase network capacity, the constant need for enhanced cyber security, workplace upgrades and a move to the cloud. While it is impossible to predict how long these buoyant market conditions will continue, most of these drivers have significant momentum."