DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Ingram Micro Inc. (IM) said Thursday its first-quarter net
income was down 57% on falling product demand.
Soft spending on information-technology products has hurt
companies like Ingram, which distributes products from concerns
including Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and Cisco Systems Inc.
(CSCO).
Chief Executive Gregory M. Spierkel said, "With the recession
now affecting all regions, we do not expect a pick-up in sales for
several more months, perhaps for the remainder of the year.
However, we don't feel the market getting worse at this stage and
expect second-quarter sales to follow a historical seasonal
pattern."
Ingram posted first-quarter net income of $27.5 million, or 17
cents a share, down from $64.1 million, or 37 cents a share, a year
earlier. The latest quarter included 6 cents in restructuring
charges. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters projected earnings of
13 cents.
Revenue slipped to $6.75 billion from $8.58 billion, in line
with the company's February forecast. Nearly one-third of the drop
was due to the stronger dollar.
Gross margin decreased to 5.6% from 5.7%.
Shares are currently unchanged from the Thursday close of
$14.52. The stock was up 15% for April.
-By Katherine E. Wegert and Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones
Newswires; 201-938-5294; katherine.wegert@dowjones.com