Computacenter updates on solid Q1

Computacenter has provided some investor cheer, with an upbeat trading statement that covers its first quarter (Q1) performance. The channel player indicated in its update that the three months to 31 March came in “significantly ahead of the prior year and well above our expectations”.

The trends present in driving growth in the business last year – most notably the strength of the North American operation – continued to deliver in Q1. The update highlighted a strong revenue performance in its technology sourcing unit and attributed that to activity by hyperscalers in the Norther American and UK markets. Services revenue was also ahead of last year, buoyed by growth in the professional services offerings, which were strong enough to offset declines in managed services.

The UK was described in the statement as achieving “excellent growth” in technology services, with artificial intelligence (AI) projects a significant contributor. Germany was solid when compared to the same period last year, and the Eastern European operation delivered a small increase in revenue.

The shining star for most of last year was North America, and it was able to take advantage in Q1 of a product order backlog that had built up at the end of 2025. There were signs during the first quarter that customers were ordering earlier than usual to get ahead of supply issues to ensure they could get the hardware they were after.

Despite the gloom and doom that occupies headlines, largely driven by ongoing component shortages and increased fuel costs, the tone struck by the Computacenter trading statement was positive about the immediate prospects for the business.

“Looking to 2026, we now expect to deliver a much stronger performance in the first half of the year than previously anticipated,” the firm stated. “For the full year, we remain mindful of the uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical environment. and a tougher comparative in the second half of the year.

“However, after a strong start to the year, and assuming no significant deterioration to the external backdrop, we now anticipate delivering full-year results comfortably ahead of market expectations.

“Looking further ahead, the combination of the strength of our integrated technology sourcing and services model, and our geographic diversity, gives us continued confidence in our long-term growth prospects,” it added.

Computacenter’s most recent results for FY25 showed technology sourcing GII climbing by 37.8% to £11.3bn, and services revenue improving by 2.9% to £1.69bn, with pre-tax profit for the year decreasing by 2.5% to £238.5m.

Breaking down the services performance on the professional side, revenue grew by 8.8%, but managed services declined by 2.4%, with a weak performance on that front in the UK dragging down the numbers.

Computacenter has spent the past few years establishing and expanding its North American business, using acquisition to widen its reach on the other side of the Atlantic. Last year saw the firm add AgreeYa Solutions into the portfolio in January, which followed on from earlier moves for FusionStorm and Pivot Technology Solutions that bolstered the performance of the business.