The electronics and building components supplier, London, EC1-based Diploma Plc, has turned in pre-tax profits for the year to September 30 down 19.3% at UKP9.6m on turnover that fell 4.7% to UKP141.9m. Chairman Christopher Thomas is pleased with the results, saying that the performance of the different sectors should be measured against the overall economic environment. The electronics division was up on last year, with the exception of Engineering Computer Services, ECS. Thomas says that the electronic component distribution business is beset by static demand that is reflected in a downward price spiral, with prices falling by approximately 13% from beginning to end of year. Macro increased its market share and was strengthened by the disposal of Diploma’s majority share of Access Group in June (CI 1,700). Thomas says that this area of the market is currently in transition and further changes will follow. Anzac, which represents Japanese manufacturers in the main in the memory devices area, saw demand for DRAMS swing significantly downwards. NortronicDTV saw demand for its mostly passive component line-up reduce in average value but increase in number of orders, which Thomas says reflects the general industry uncertainty and over-supply with products being so competitively priced and readily available that the larger orders became quite rare. Wakefield, the US distributor of computer-related products providing solutions to connectivity or networking, out-performed its sector through its trading identities of South Hills and Alpeco. Turnover and profitability improved and Thomas expresses confidence in its continuing success. The weak link is still Electronic Computer Services, although the rate of loss has been largely stemmed during the last six months. Thomas says that CAD/CAM has been a low priority investment area, adding that ECS is dependent on the recession hit engineering sector for its customers. However, according to Thomas, ECS has gained market share. As regard the building components sector, Thomas points out that the fortunes of the construction industry are, at best, mixed and will remain so in the near future. Thomas is banking on an up-turn in general economic terms that will boost all of Diploma’s businesses.
