Sales up but profits down at Ingram Micro

Peaks and troughs

Profits at Ingram Micro slipped to $48.4m in Q3 2005 from $77.3m in the same period last year. The distie's income dropped even though its sales grew 16 per cent from $6.02bn in Q3 2004 to $6.96bn in Q3 2005. Europe made up a third (43 per cent) of these sales, up 10 per cent compared to last year.

Ingram Micro blamed one-time charges and the absence of exceptional gains it recorded a year ago for its failure to reach the dizzy heights it reached in the 2004 quarter. Even so its figures came out ahead of analyst expectations. First Call predicted Ingram would post profits of $47.3m on sales on $6.94bn. Looking ahead, Ingram estimates Q4 2005 sales will range from $7.75bn to $8.00bn. ®