Computacenter expects lower H1 pretax profit

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LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - British computer hardware and services company Computacenter Plc (CCC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said tough early-year trading conditions in the UK and France would hurt first-half results, though its expectations for the year were unchanged.

The company said on Friday it experienced "difficult trading" in its UK and French subsidiaries compared with last year but confirmed the UK picked up towards the end of the period, and it generated an increased proportion of profit in Germany.

"It is likely that the pretax profit will be more skewed towards the second half, which may result in the first half being slightly below the first half of last year," it said.

UK sales in the quarter were up 1.1 percent at 346.6 million pounds, while non-UK sales were down 7.1 percent at 332.8 million euros, Computacenter said.

Group sales, however, were up 1.8 percent at 598.4 million pounds, helped by the strength of the euro against sterling. Computacenter's biggest customers are telecoms giant BT (BT.L: Quote, Profile, Research), German car manufacturer BMW (BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and the French Ministry of Defence.

Despite economic uncertainties, the company, which operates in the UK, France and Germany, said it had been "encouraged by trading in recent weeks".

The group added that its full-year performance would likely be in line with expectations, assuming no deterioration in market conditions.