Ingram Micro 1Q Profit Falls 20% On Australian Difficulties

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Ingram Micro Inc.'s (IM) first-quarter earnings fell 20%, missing analysts' forecasts, as the company said its bottom line was hurt by "difficulties" transitioning to a new enterprise system in Australia.

Chief Executive Gregory Spierkel said the company was "diligently addressing" issues with its ERP system implementation in the country and is "confident the future benefits of the new system outweigh some of the hurdles we are facing today."

The computer-equipment distributor serves as a go-between for some of the world's leading hardware and software companies and information-technology departments. The company's results of late have improved as demand has picked up in an improving economy.

Ingram reported a profit of $56.3 million, or 34 cents a share, down from $70.3 million, or 42 cents, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 7.8% to $8.72 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of 48 cents on $8.83 billion in revenue.

Gross margin edged down to 5.2% from 5.5%.

Sales in North America rose 6.5%, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa sales climbed 7.9%. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region rose 9.4%, while they increased 10% in Latin America.

Shares closed at $20.95 and were down 4.5% to $20 after hours. As of the close, the stock had risen 15% the past year.

-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855; [e-mail];