Computacenter benefits from increased demand for technology

UK services group sees increase in revenue and profit, even in struggling French business

UK-based IT services group Computacenter has reported strong full-year results as a result of an upturn in end user demand for new technology.

The company, which counts Volkswagen and Gatwick Airport among its customer base, posted adjusted pre-tax profit of £66.1m with revenue up 11 per cent to £2.68bn.

UK sales grew 10.8 per cent in 2010 to £1.27bn as corporate customers increased spending and the firm said that its costs were fairly steady throughout the year with no impact from VAT increases.

The firm's French business also returned a profit for the first time in almost eight years, and Computacenter said that its recent acquisition of France's Top Info for €21m should help boost profits further in 2011.

"Over the last two years, we have done much to identify those areas where we have competitive advantage and for which there is market appetite. We believe that this is where our future success lies," said Mike Norris, chief executive of Computacenter.

"We believe that 2011, as a whole, will be a year of continuing improvement for Computacenter. We are encouraged by end-user demand for new technology which is driving the requirement for investment in corporate IT infrastructure, helped by economic improvement within our customers' markets."