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Investing.com -- Computacenter reported a strong first half (1H) of 2025, driven by sharp growth in Technology Sourcing, particularly in North America, alongside steady services performance.
Group revenue rose 28.5% year-on-year to £3.99bn, while gross invoiced income increased 25% to £5.67bn.
Technology Sourcing revenue jumped 38% to £3.18bn, aided by buoyant AI-related infrastructure demand, while Services revenue grew modestly to £808.8m.
Gross profit rose 6.8% to £504.2m, though gross margin narrowed to 12.6% from 15.2%, reflecting higher volumes of lower-margin business.
Adjusted operating profit edged up 1.2% to £82.1m, while adjusted profit before tax fell 6.5% to £81.5m.
Statutory profit before tax dropped 13% to £73.2m. Adjusted diluted EPS slipped to 52.5p from 55.0p.
Regional trends were mixed. North America nearly doubled operating profit and accounted for 44% of group earnings, with strong AI and hyperscale infrastructure demand.
The U.K. returned to growth with a 29% rise in operating profit. Germany and France, however, faced weaker public sector activity, weighing on results.
The order backlog rose 23.7% year-on-year to £2.2bn, with strong intake in North America and the U.K. Interim dividend was raised 1.3% to 23.6p per share.
Net funds fell to £115.4m from £287.8m a year earlier, after heavy working capital outflows.
Chief Executive Mike Norris said the group “executed well during the first half delivering growth in both Technology Sourcing and Services against a backdrop of macroeconomic and political uncertainty.”
He highlighted another “record across all areas” in North America and noted that “we remain excited about both the short and long-term growth opportunity in this market.”
Norris also pointed to the UK’s return to growth and said he anticipates “some recovery in public sector activity in Germany in the second half” while France remains challenging.
Looking ahead, Computacenter expects full-year (FY) adjusted operating profit to be ahead of 2024, supported by a strong order pipeline and momentum in North America.
Jefferies analyst Charles Brenna said Computacenter’s first-half results "are consistent with the pre-announcement and, while unchanged FY guidance requires a record 2H, comments pointing to a strong start to 3Q suggest the downgrade pressure we have seen over the past 18 months is coming to end."
"As momentum rebuilds, we expect the valuation discount to unwind," he added.