UK delivers for Computacenter in Q1

Computacenter has signalled to investors that it has started the year well, building on the momentum it saw in the second half of 2024.

The channel player has shared a trading update for the three months to 31 March that will cheer investors and add more evidence to anecdotal reports across the channel that 2025 is going to improve on a challenging 2024.

This time last year, the channel player was dealing with a difficult market, revealing in September that it had been hit by softer market conditions in the first half of the year but was seeing an improvement, with the second half delivering record performance and business generated with a number of major customers.

Encouragingly for Computacenter, its first-quarter 2025 performance continued to build on that second-half 2024 performance, resulting in growth across its operations.

“We delivered a good performance for the group during the first quarter, which was ahead of the prior year and in line with our expectations. Group Technology Sourcing revenue increased strongly against a relatively soft comparison, largely driven by North America. Group Services revenue was also ahead of last year, reflecting good growth in Professional Services and a slight decline in Managed Services revenue,” the firm stated.

The US region was the star of the last fiscal period, and that continued to be the case into this year, but the latest update was more upbeat about performance in the UK.

“By region, North America continued its momentum and delivered a strong performance, reflecting the increased product order backlog position at the end of 2024. The UK achieved good growth in Technology Sourcing and excellent growth in Professional Services. In Germany, given the anticipated temporary reduction in public sector activity following recent elections, the business performed solidly,” the statement declared.

Looking ahead, the update indicated that it was hard to predict what was coming, given the recent introduction of tariffs and related fears of a global trade war.

“With global political and macroeconomic uncertainty increasing in recent weeks, the potential impacts on customer demand are difficult to predict. We do not, however, have any direct exposure to tariffs as we meet local demand with local supply within our markets across the group,” the firm stated.

The channel is having to get used to operating in a world of uncertainty, with wars and economic shocks part of the backdrop to regular trading.

One distribution source said the channel needed to continue operating despite those issues and deliver technology to customers that might be hesitant but need to tap into artificial intelligence and improve their security.

“You are always going to see change, and that can come in different guises, whether that’s an economic factor, a political factor or something that is beyond our control. What you have to do on that basis is the only thing you can do – control your own business and try to be as robust as possible,” she said.

Computacenter rounded out the update by talking up its market position and ability to meet customer demand across a wide range of technologies and services.