Port Washington, N.Y.
– Fourth-quarter profits nearly doubled for IT supplier and reseller Systemax
thanks to stringent cost controls and strong holiday demand.
Net income rose 85 percent to $18.4
million for the three months, ended Dec. 31, 2009, which also included a
one-time after-tax gain of $1.8 million from a favorable lawsuit settlement.
Net sales grew 15 percent to $938.2
million, a company record, while revenue from Systemax’s retail and direct-sale
operations, including CompUSA, TigerDirect and CircuitCity.com, rose 9 percent
to $537.6 million. Same-store sales
increased 12 percent year over year.
“The market share growth strategy we
have followed since the beginning of the economic downturn is beginning to pay
off for us,” noted chairman/CEO Richard Leeds “Our consumer channel sales
benefited from a robust holiday season that saw consumers shopping for lower-priced
products such as netbook computers, digital cameras and smaller flat-screen
televisions both online and at our retail stores, as well as the Circuit City
asset purchase which was completed in May 2009.
“Looking ahead,” he continued, “we
believe our capacity to capture value and deliver it to customers through our
recognized brands … positions us well for 2010.”
For the full calendar year, net
income fell 12.6 percent to $46.2 million and net sales rose 4 percent to $3.2
billion, another company record. Revenue from retail and direct-sale operations
increased 12 percent to $1.8 billion.
Systemax, a Fortune
1000 company, makes and sells personal computers, computer components and
supplies, consumer electronics and industrial products through a system of
branded e-commerce Web sites, retail stores, relationship marketers and direct-mail
catalogs in North America and Europe.
