Premier Farnell delivered growth every quarter in FY18

The distributor delivered an exceptional FY18 trading performance with global revenue of USD 1.5 billion, up 11.1% YoY (6.5% YoY on a constant currency basis). The company delivered consecutive YoY growth each quarter at a global and regional level (EMEA, North America & Asia-Pacific) and exited the year with Q4 sales growth of 13% year over year. Alongside this strong sales performance, gross margin remained stable across FY18 and the ongoing realisation of acquisition synergies benefitted operating expenses, delivering a significant increase in operating income year over year since the date of acquisition by Avnet, the company writes in a press release. The strong financial performance was supported by ongoing investment in the business to support customers. Premier Farnell invested USD 100 million in additional inventory during the year and added 22 new suppliers. Most recent suppliers added to Premier Farnell’s supplier network include IDEC and Klein Tools, building on the addition of Xilinx, Nordic Semiconductor and Arduino earlier in the year. “This is a significant result. We have built real momentum, delivering growth every quarter, in every region, and 13% year over year growth globally during the fourth quarter. As the Development Distributor, it is our aim to be there when it matters, helping customers develop their products and businesses, and supporting the development of the next generation of engineers. The significant investment we have made in the business during this year – both in inventory and the development of new relationships with supplier partners, has supported this result,” says Chris Breslin, President of Premier Farnell, in the press release. During the year Premier Farnell also announced a major investment in new warehousing capabilities in Leeds, United Kingdom, which will be the largest ever warehouse development in the Leeds City region. The distribution centre is scheduled to be fully operational by late 2019 – early 2020.