Global sales growth to EDEs outstripped global MRO sales growth by 12.3 per cent. To bolster this progress the distributor launched its element14 design community web site in the US earlier this year.
Web sales also continue to progress. The company says that MDD web sales grew 28.9 per cent on the previous year with e-commerce now accounting for 41.3 per cent of total MDD sales. European enthusiasm for e-commerce is even greater as web business in Europe now accounts for 58.8 per cent of sales.
The push into new international markets is also paying dividends. Greater China led the way with 76.4 per cent year on year sales growth. Indian sales grew 70.3 per cent and eastern Europe contributed a healthy 74.6 per cent sales growth.
The company's full year results showed sales down 1 per cent to £795m from £804m last year. Profits fell 27 per cent from £72.8m last year to £53.5m.
The established business geographies also reported fourth quarter sales growth. Farnell Europe galloped back to year on year growth, up 11.4 per cent in the quarter. Asia Pacific sales shot up by 37.4 per cent; Sales in north America were flat in the quarter, though the company does point to an encouraging 12 per cent sales growth in February compared to the previous year.
Commenting on the results, Harriet Green (pictured), Group chief executive, said: “Group sales and underlying Group operating profit both returned to year on year growth during the fourth quarter. Our return on sales increased by over one percentage point on the third quarter, the second consecutive quarter of sequential improvement, and January Group sales saw a significant increase in momentum. As we moved into the first quarter, which is seasonally our strongest, this performance accelerated, with Group sales growing over 15% in February on the prior year.
“The margin enhancing characteristics of our strategy and the value our customers attribute to our high service proposition has delivered a one percentage point improvement in our gross margin, over the prior year. This reflects the seventeenth consecutive quarter of gross margin stability, a true differentiator in our industry.
“Our performance over the last three years has demonstrated the strength of the assumptions which underpin our strategy. We will continue to focus on execution and driving our performance towards reaching the level of sales we saw before entering the downturn, while recognising the limited visibility inherent in our business. With the resilience of our business and the strength of our strategy, the board remains confident in investing for our future as we capitalise on the opportunities within our markets and grow our business profitably.”
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