Premier Farnell Sounds Upbeat Note

Premier Farnell's third quarter results are the latest evidence of a recovery in the distribution sector.

Revenue at £209.1m was 11 per cent down on Q3 2008, and profits fell 37 per cent from £17.7m last year to £11.1m. That was slightly ahead of market expectations.

And the company struck an upbeat note citing an improvement as the rate of sales decline year on year in all MDD regions. Asia/Pacific has returned to year on year sales growth and sales in MDD Americas and Europe grew sequentially on the second quarter. MDD America absolute sales per day have improved for five consecutive months.

Premier Farnell says it has outperformed its markets, and taken market share in Asia/Pacific, Europe and the UK.

Harriet Green, chief executive officer of Premier Farnell commented,“Sales in all of our MDD businesses grew sequentially on the second quarter. We are particularly encouraged with the return to strong year on year sales growth in APAC and by the significant sequential sales growth achieved in MDD Americas. The EDEsegment saw a significant sales improvement through the quarter, again outperforming sales to the MRO segment in all regions. The execution of our strategy remains at the core of our market share gains in Europe, the UKand APAC and the significant year on year improvement in operating profit in MDD Europe and Asia Pacific.

“We have continued to invest throughout the global economic downturn, as we develop and leverage new services that build on the strong foundations of our proven global strategy. These investments ensure we remain aligned to our customers’ needs, which they continue to recognise, as we delivered our sixteenth consecutive quarter of gross margin stability, a clear differentiator in our industry.

"Both the strength of our strategy and the resilience of our business are clear, as the improving sales trends seen in the third quarter accelerated in November, where Group sales achieved positive year on year growth of 1.3%."