Computacenter swings into losses as German contracts weigh

30th Aug 2013 07:29

Computacenter plunged into the red in the first half after its results were hit by 29.3m pounds worth of one-off charges relating to three problematic contracts in Germany and troubles at its French business.The company, which supplies IT equipment and advises on strategy, reported a loss of £4.4m in the six months to the end of June compared with a profit of £20.8m in the same period last year. It has determined that the three German contracts will be loss-making over the course of their life time and has put aside £10.7m to reflect how much it estimates they will lose going forward. The results also included a £5.7m trading loss relating to these onerous contracts and a £12.2m impairment charge on its French operations where losses have ballooned. The company said it had experience "some temporary implementation issues" relating to the migration of its new software system into its French business. It said uncertainty in the French economy was also causing decisions on significant projects to be delayed. But business elsewhere has been performing well with the group reporting "excellent progress" in the UK. Group revenues were marginally higher at £1.43bn in the first half compared with £1.42bn last time and the company still lifted its dividend payment to 5.2p from 5p.Chief Executive Mike Norris said: "Trading remains in line with the board's expectations for the year with the exception of the provisions we have made in respect of our three onerous contracts in Germany."TB