Premier Farnell reportedly to lay off 300

The distributor reported MDD sales growth of 2.2% in the last quarter with the Americas up 1.0%, mainland Europe at 5.6% and Farnell UK also delivering positive growth. Web sales grew another 25% in the quarter and eCommerce now represents 32% of total MDD sales, supported by the success of the ongoing investments to improve functionality, meet customer needs and introduce tools that will result in cost savings for the business. The internationalisation of the business continues at pace. Eastern Europe and China delivered year on year growth of 81% and 29%, respectively, while India’s performance remained strong, up 21% on the prior quarter. Commenting on the results, Harriet Green, Group Chief Executive, said: “We were encouraged by the revenue performance in the third quarter driven by our strategic focus on EDE, the web and internationalisation. Recent trading conditions have been variable, but the Board believes that it has taken the actions necessary to position the Company well in the challenging and unpredictable global economy. Our strategy enables us to remove cost and improve our operating efficiency as we accelerate our transition to the web.”