Computacenter sees 10 per cent rise in first-half profit

Growth spurred by high-margin services offering

Computacenter is expecting a 10 per cent rise on the £18.2m profit recorded in H1 2009

British IT firm Computacenter expects a first-half increase in profit of more than 10 per cent. Its growth has been spurred by its success in providing high-margin services, while product sales were subdued.

Last year, Computacenter recorded a pre-tax profit of £18.2m for the first half. The firm’s first-half revenue has now grown by seven per cent, excluding the effect of the sale of its trade distribution arm in October.

However, product sales were more subdued in the second quarter compared with the first.

The company, which counts WM Morrison and Lloyds Banking Group among its customers, said that its operation in France would be broadly as profitable as the same period a year ago, a better result than the group expected.

However, its German operation is expected to be down, the firm said, although it was showing signs of improvement.

"We are pleased with the progress the group has made, despite the first two months' results in Germany," the company said in a statement.

"We remain on track to achieve our expectations for the year-end outcome."