Investment in inventory and new franchises help support double digit growth for Premier Farnell
Business delivers global growth of 11.1% in year ending 1 July 2018 as it invests $100m in inventory and adds 22 new suppliers
Premier Farnell, delivered an exceptional FY181 trading performance with global revenue of $1.5bn, up +11.1% year over year (+6.5% year over year on a constant currency basis). The company delivered consecutive year on year growth each quarter at a global and regional level (EMEA, North America & Asia-Pacific) and exited the year with Q4 sales growth of 13% year over year.
Alongside this strong sales performance, gross margin remained stable across FY18 and the ongoing realisation of acquisition synergies benefitted operating expenses, delivering a significant increase in operating income year over year since the date of acquisition by Avnet.
Premier Farnell’s strong financial performance was supported by ongoing investment in the business to support customers. Premier Farnell invested $100m in additional inventory during the year and added 22 new suppliers, adding depth and breadth of product offering and providing customers with even greater access to the latest new product introductions and established product offerings.
Most recent suppliers added to Premier Farnell’s supplier network include IDEC and Klein Tools, building on the addition of Xilinx, Nordic Semiconductor and Arduino earlier in the year. Inventory investment crossed the entire range of product categories from Semiconductors, Interconnect, Passives, Electro-mechanical and Single Board Computing; to Test and Tools where Premier Farnell leads the market for high service distribution.
Chris Breslin, President of Premier Farnell said: “This is a significant result. We have built real momentum, delivering growth every quarter, in every region, and 13% year over year growth globally during the fourth quarter. As the Development Distributor, it is our aim to be there when it matters, helping customers develop their products and businesses, and supporting the development of the next generation of engineers. The significant investment we have made in the business during this year – both in inventory and the development of new relationships with supplier partners, has supported this result. The ongoing take-up of the BBC Micro:bit as an education tool has also continued and we have supported new programmes in Canada and Croatia. As we look forward, we are extremely positive about the opportunities for the business.”
During the year Premier Farnell also announced a major investment in new warehousing capabilities in Leeds, United Kingdom, which will be the largest ever warehouse development in the Leeds City region. The distribution centre is scheduled to be fully operational by late 2019/early 2020, when it will supply Premier Farnell’s network of eight other warehouses across the globe including Gaffney in North America. This state-of-the-art new facility will enable the business to develop core value-adding services for customers right from its warehouse operations.
Premier Farnell operates as Farnell element14 in Europe, Newark element14 in North America and element14 in Asia Pacific.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to uncertainty, changes in facts and circumstances and other risks which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. More detailed information about these and other factors is set forth in filings by Avnet, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Avnet’s reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. Except as required by law, there is no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Notes to editors
1 fiscal year ending July 1, 2018
Farnell Global is a fast and reliable distributor of products and technology for electronic and industrial system design, maintenance and repair. From research and design through prototype to production, Farnell helps its customers access the products and services they need 24/7. With more than 80 years of experience, 47 localised websites, and a dedicated team of over 3,500 employees, Farnell provides every component its customers need to build the technology of tomorrow.
Farnell Global trades as Farnell in Europe, Newark in North America, and element14 in Asia Pacific. It also sells direct to consumers through its CPC business in the UK.
Farnell Global has been part of the established global technology distributor, Avnet (Nasdaq: AVT), since 2016. Today, this relationship allows the company to support its customers at every stage of the product life cycle, offering a truly unique distribution model, as well as expertise in end-to-end delivery and product design.
For more information, visit http://www.farnell.com/
