Computacenter PLC (LON:CCC) has increased its full-year profit guidance as it said the positive momentum in trading seen since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic showed “no sign of abating”.
In an update for the year to December 31, 2020, the FTSE 250 IT firm said its trading had “continued positively” through to the end of the year which it said allowed it to increase its pre-tax profit guidance for the period to in excess of £195mln, up from a previous forecast of around £190mln made in an update on December 10.
READ: Computacenter enters fourth quarter with strong order backlog
Over the year, Computacenter said revenue grew by 8%, noting that it had seen “strong growth” in its technology sourcing product sales into the public sector and services-based customers as opposed to clients in the manufacturing and industrial sectors where spending has “slowed materially”.
Services revenues, meanwhile, remained “broadly flat”, although the company said strong utilisation of its staff and a reduction in contractor spend had led to improved margins, which when coupled with a “significant reduction in cost” from restricted travel allowed profitability to be achieved.
Meanwhile, the company said its adjusted net funds at the end of the year finished “extremely strongly” at around £188mln as several customers paid ahead of normal cycles.
Looking ahead, Computacenter said the positive momentum in trading showed no signs of slowing down, and its pipelines for both technology sourcing and services are as strong as at any time in the last year.
“While it is impossible to predict when or how our customers will react as the pandemic reduces its impact on our day to day lives, given the momentum we have in the business which is obviously further aided by our acquisition in the US, we are as confident as we can be at this stage that 2021 will be a year of progress for the group”, the company said in the trading statement.