Shares in Computacenter (CCC) were marked up on the news that first-quarter performance had exceeded expectations. Sales rose by 23 per cent for the three months to March, and by 21 per cent at constant currencies. Segmentally, group services reported a meagre 2 per cent increase, but supply chain more than picked up the slack with a 33 per cent improvement.
True, overall revenue growth was supported by a one-off, non-recurring software licence sale within the UK, worth £34.1m. This was profitable, but diluted margins. Still, excluding this contract, the top line was up 19 per cent or 17 per cent at constant currencies. Regionally, the UK and Germany enjoyed double-digit growth and, while France’s sales were flat, the business faced a particularly strong comparative period there.
