Currency effects boost Ingram Q4

Revs up on swings and roundabouts

By Team Register • Get more from this author

Posted in Financial News, 25th February 2005 16:48 GMT

Tune into our application security webcast, click here

The weakened dollar helped Ingram Micro boost its margins in the fourth quarter, the distributor’s latest results show.

Ingram’s sales in the fourth quarter were $7.45bn, 10.2% up on the same period the year before. The figures included $400m from the Tech Pacific operation it acquired in November last year.

European sales increased 8% to $2.99bn, driven by “strengthening European currencies”. In local currencies, sales were flat on an “extraordinarily strong” previous year.

Net income was $79.2m, including benefits of $19.3m, mainly related to currency hedging on its Australian dollar purchase of Tech Pacific. The previous year, it had net income of $46.4m, which included $8.7m of major-program costs associated with its profit enhancement program.

For the full year, sales were $25.5bn compared to $22.6bn the previous year, with the strengthening of the European currencies accounting for 4 per cent of the increase. Full year net income was $219.9m, compared to $149.2m the previous year.

Ingram said it expects solid demand in the first quarter, with sales coming in between $7bn and $7.2bn, and net income of $47m to $50m.