Computacenter bounces back from Y2K

A strong second-half performance helped UK reseller Computacenter bounce back from a poor first half performance to beat expectations for the year.

The group made a pre-tax profit of £55.6m in 2000, down on the £75.1m reported for 1999, but turnover was up 12.9 per cent on 1999, at £1.99bn. The group blamed a slowdown in demand from corporate customers following the millennium for the group's poor result in the first half of 2000. Philip Hulme, chairman of Computacenter, said in a statement: "The rate of recovery [from the Y2K slowdown] was slower than we expected with the impact lasting well into the fourth quarter." However, by the end of the year, most of the company's service staff were working at full capacity. But, Hulme warned: "[It] would be prudent to remain cautious regarding both general market conditions and the possibility of increasing margin pressure." Nonetheless, the group announced that it expected increased demand for ecommerce solutions and Windows 2000 to drive growth in the next year. Philip Hulme also announced he is stepping down as chairman, to be replaced by non-executive director Ron Sandler.