Softcat provides investor cheer with Q3 update

With all of the Brexit uncertainty and trade wars happening between China d nthe US the industry looks to channel bellwethers for a sign of how the market is holding up.

So far Softcat has not disappointed and a trading update issued this morning covering its third fiscal quarter ended 30 April will also have reassured investors.

"The Company continued to perform well during the Period and has delivered strong year-on-year growth across all income and profit measures. Performance drivers remained broad-based, with different technology areas and customer segments all showing growth," stated the firm.

"The Board is therefore confident that full year results will now be slightly ahead of previous expectations," it added.

The update also included a mention of the progress on the Birmingham office, which it expects to open early in its next financial year.

The Q3 update comes on the heels of a strong H1 update which saw improvements in revenue and operating profits for the six months ended 31 January. Revenue climbed by 21% to hit £434m and operating profits were up by 40% to £33.9m.

Softcat added 620 customers during the period and increased the gross profit coming out of those relationships. It was also able to report that growth came from all offices, segments and product lines.

During the six months the firm expanded its London and Leeds offices and also made the revelation about the plans to expand into the Midlands. In its last fiscal year the channel player cut the ribbon on its Irish business, which is also continuing to expand.

Speaking at the time of the H1 update Softcat's CEO Graeme Watt did made comments on the second half, pointing out that the firm expected the full year numbers to be, "marginally ahead of previous expectations".