Computacenter boosts guidance on bumper demand

(Sharecast News) - Computacenter lifted guidance on Thursday, sending shares soaring, after second-quarter trading was boosted by strong demand from hyperscalers.

The technology and services provider said trading in the three months to 30 June had been ahead of expectations, building on an "excellent" first quarter.

In particular, it flagged above-forecast volume growth with hyperscale customers in North America, while in the UK, technology sourcing benefited from further artificial intelligence-related projects.

As a consequence, the blue chip confirmed that interim profits were likely to be around double the previous year's £81.5m, while full-year results were set to come in "comfortably ahead" of market expectations, despite tougher comparatives in the second half. The committed product order backlog was also "well ahead" as at 30 June of the £7.1bn seen at the end of December, it added.

Analysts currently expect annual adjusted pre-tax profits to come in between £305m and £324.3m.

As at 0930 BST, shares in Computacenter had rocketed 11% at 4,590p.

Jefferies reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock following the update, and upped its price target to 5,300p. "Order book strength supports forward-looking confidence, leading us to raise full-year 2026/27 earnings per share by 7/6%. Computacenter remains one of our preferred names in the sector as it continues to out-execute peers."

Computacenter, which employs around 21,000 people worldwide, is due to post interim earnings on 8 September.

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