Computacenter plc saw a small dip in third quarter sales according to a trading update it has just issued for the three months ended 30 September. The sales reported do not include business linked to the two acquisitions in the US and the Netherlands it made during the period.
Overall group revenue for the third quarter declined year-on-year by 3% to £900m (2017: £931.9m). “This small decline, compared to the strong results in the first half, is due to a significantly more challenging comparison,” said the company.
To illustrate this, said the firm, the first half of 2017 saw growth of 9% against the first half of 2016, whereas the third quarter of 2017 grew by 20% against the comparative period.
For the latest quarter, Group Services revenue grew by 1%. Group Technology Sourcing revenue declined by 5%.
In the UK, there was an overall decline in revenue of 9% to £296m (2017: £326m). Services revenue in the third quarter decreased by 4%, and Technology Sourcing revenue tumbled 12%.
German revenue grew in the third quarter by 1% to £451m. Services revenue increased by 1%, as did Technology Sourcing revenue. Overall French revenue declined by 6%, with Services revenue down 1% and Technology Sourcing revenue slipping 8%.
Computacenter said: “While the overall growth rates in the third quarter in isolation are subdued compared to recent quarters, the third quarter presented a more challenging comparison. Our expectation for the fourth quarter is for improved growth before acquisitions, but not to the levels seen in the first half of the year.”
The company's annual results will be posted on 23 January 2019.
