David Dicker (Dicker Data)
Dicker Data has posted a bumper quarter due to the surge in demand for remote working solutions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Australia and New Zealand distributor made $463.9 million in revenue for the first quarter ended 31 March, a 20 per cent rise year-on-year.
In its update to shareholders, Dicker claimed the previous March was its “biggest ever” off the back of the demand for working-from-home products and services across all sectors including education.
“With many organisations enabling their workforces to work remotely we have seen a surge in demand for remote working solutions across both our hardware and software portfolios, highlighting IT distribution’s role as an essential component for business continuity,” it told shareholders.
Dicker did weather “some constraints” on supply during the start of the quarter, but claimed these were “managed effectively and vigilantly by the company having made some early stocking decisions in respect of hardware stock which ensured a significant amount of orders could be fulfilled.”
Other distributors have also reported supply shortages, particularly in hardware due to the bulk of manufacturing taking place in China, the initial epicentre of the pandemic.
Dicker said it was now starting to see supply open as factories become fully operational and therefore expected to be able to complete balance of backorders in coming weeks
The distributor also saw its pre-tax profits soar by more than a third to $18.4 million year-on-year.
During the three-month period, Dicker made a trio of new vendor signings, including Veeam, Heimdal Security and Blupeak.
Although the quarter ended well, Dicker said it was too early to provide half year guidance due to “unprecedented times” and the uncertain economic outlook both locally and globally.
Dicker Data ended last year with post-tax profit growth of 67.3 per cent up to $54.3 million.
Revenue for the company's financial year, ending December 2019, also increased by 17.9 per cent up to nearly $1.8 billion, figures which the distributor claimed were its best ever
