Avnet Quarter Strong, CEO Talks Tech Refresh

IT and electronics distributor Avnet saw a 38.5 percent spike in fourth quarter revenue year over year as buyers returned following a deep recession in 2009. Avnet reported Q4 sales of $5.2 billion compared to $3.8 billion for the same period a year ago. Net income came in at $141 million compared to a net loss of $30.9 million for the same period a year ago.

CEO Roy Vallee pointed to strength in the Europe, Middle East, Africa regions as well as in the electronics group.

“The demand for electronic components remained strong across all three regions as better-than-normal sequential growth resulted in year-over-year revenue growth of 47 percent this quarter, establishing a new record for EM.”

Further, Vallee noted that a technology refresh cycle was taking place as forecast.

"The technology refresh cycle that has been driving better-than-normal seasonal growth continued this quarter as TS pro forma revenue grew 10 percent sequentially and 25 percent year over year,” he said in a statement.  “In the Americas region, year-over-year growth rates accelerated for the third consecutive quarter while EMEA surged well into positive territory in constant currency for the first time this fiscal year.”

For the fiscal year, sales climbed to $19.2 billion, an 18 percent increase over the previous fiscal year’s $16.2 sales. Net income for the year came in at $410 million compared to a $1.1 billion loss for the previous year.