Computacenter PLC on Friday said it expects a first-half profit fall, as it grapples with weaker demand in the UK and unfavourable order timing in North America, though it announced a £200 million buyback.

Computacenter is a Hatfield, England-based computer technology and services provider.

It expects adjusted pretax profit of £87 million for the first six months of 2024, down around 29% from £121.8 million a year prior, computer technology and services provider said.

‘This result has been impacted by the timing of fulfilment of certain large orders in North America which have now moved into H2, as well as the phasing of our strategic initiatives investments where we spent an additional £6 million versus the same period in 2023,’ it explained.

The company added: ‘As anticipated, Technology Sourcing volumes normalised during the first half versus an exceptionally strong H1 2023. We delivered a solid underlying performance in Germany and North America whereas in the UK, demand for hardware has been weaker than expected, with customers exercising greater caution and purchasing decisions taking longer to conclude.

‘Encouragingly, our committed product order backlog has grown significantly since the start of the year driven by notable Technology Sourcing wins in North America.’

Looking ahead, Computacenter expects ‘stronger momentum’ in the second half, underpinned by its order backlog.

The firm announced it will return up to £200 million to shareholders, due to its ‘strong positive adjusted net funds position’.

Shares in Computacenter were down 1.7% at 2,608.00 pence each in London on Friday morning.

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