Revenue growth at electrical components quarter Electrocomponents levelled out in the final two months of the group's financial year, allaying fears that a stalling growth rate would stop altogether.
For the year to March 31st, the group has seen year-on-year sales growth of around 7% to more than £1.2bn, with the International division setting the pace with sales growth of around 9%, compared to growth of around 3% for the UK.
In the first three months of 2012, however, sales growth has eased to around 1%, with flat sales in the UK and International sales up 2%. Within the International business Continental Europe sales have grown by around 2%, North America by around 1% and Asia Pacific by around 2%.
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The good news is that the overall picture is not a lot different from what it was in January alone, when group revenue saw an increase of 1%, with International revenue (which accounts for 70% of sales) rising by 1% and UK being flat; in fact, the performance of the International division seems to have picked up a bit.
The group's online offering is going great guns, and accounts for more than 60% of revenue in the UK and Continental Europe.
"This performance is broad-based, with all regions and both electronics and maintenance delivering growth, and is being driven by the continued development of our industry-leading eCommerce channel which will grow by 18% for the full year," revealed Ian Mason, Group Chief Executive.
JH
