Bell Microproducts Inc. announced preliminary Q1 2007 revenue in a range of US$990 million to US$1.01 billion, an increase of 14 per cent to 16 per cent from Q1 2006 revenue of $867 million.
The much-beleaguered European operations posted revenue growth of approximately 13 per cent and represented roughly 44 per cent of the company’s total first quarter revenue.
Meanwhile, the solutions category of product and services sales grew 27 per cent to 53 per cent of total sales in the first quarter, as compared to 48 per cent in Q1 2006, driven primarily by strong computer platform and storage systems sales and the acquisition of ProSys.
The components and peripherals category grew approximately six per cent and represented 47 per cent of sales in the first quarter, as compared to 52 per cent in Q1 2006. Disk drive revenue increased approximately 20 per cent year over year, increased slightly from Q4 2006 levels, and represented approximately 30 per cent of total revenue.
Donald Bell, president and CEO of Bell Microproducts, said, the company’s international businesses in Europe and Latin America performed well in the first quarter and both generated double digit revenue growth. In North American operations the company experienced substantial revenue growth in the higher-margin industrial and enterprise sales channels, he said. This was partially offset by revenue decreases in the U.S. commercial sales channel as Bell Micro continues to focus on more profitable products and customers.