Arrow Shoots Straight Up
Online staff -- Electronic News, 4/23/2004
Signaling a recovery in distribution too, Arrow Electronics reported significantly higher sales and net income for Q1 year-over-year in an announcement peppered with words such as "record levels" and "exceptional."
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The Melville, N.Y.-based company posted net income of $29.5 million or 27 cents per diluted share on sales of $2.68 billion. That compares to a net loss for Q1 2003 of $900,000 or 1 cent per share on sales of $1.98 billion.
"The first quarter was very strong with exceptional year-on year-sales growth of over 40 percent in our components businesses in North America and Asia/Pacific and in our North American computer products business," said William Mitchell, president and CEO, in a statement. "For the sixth consecutive quarter, growth in operating income outpaced the growth in sales."
Worldwide components sales of $2.03 billion were up 15 percent from the December quarter and up 36 percent from the year ago quarter.
"Our continued customer focus and increased operating efficiencies, combined with improvement in the market, has enabled us to deliver exceptional results," said Mitchell. "Sales were at record first quarter levels in the Asia/Pacific region, and sales and operating income were at their highest levels since the first quarter of 2001 in North America and Europe.
"Sales in the North American Components group were up 44 percent over last year," he said. "Operating income, both in dollars and as a percentage of sales, was at its highest levels in eleven quarters with operating income dollars up more than fourfold from last year."
European sales increased by 21 percent sequentially and 20 percent year-over-year. Asia/Pacific sales grew by 8 percent sequentially and 50 percent over last year's quarter.
[Harry: Not sure how big their Asia/Pacific market is. If it is large then it signals a slowing in Asia which is to be expected since China is trying to limit growth.]
Worldwide computer products market the only dark note, down 9 percent to $642 million, down from a seasonably strong Q4. Still that marked a 31 percent increase from last year.
"Our North American computer products business had a very strong quarter with sales up more than 40 percent over last year's first quarter," Mitchell said. "Sequentially, the sales decline of 10 percent was at the low end of the historical range."
[Harry: Some of this is seasonality. 10 percent sequential decline seems rather larger though. Caution of
the PC side????]
Arrow expects Q2 revenues of between $2.70 billion and $2.825 billion, with earnings per share on a basic basis at between 47 cents per share and 52 cents per share on a pro forma basis. |
