Shares of Santa Ana’s Ingram Micro Inc., the top distributor of electronics, computers and other tech gear, jumped slightly in afterhours trading Thursday after the company said it expects record sales in the fourth quarter.
Shares were up more than 3% on a market value of about $3 billion.
For the fourth quarter, Ingram Micro said it’s looking for record profits of $103 million to $108 million on sales of about $9.7 billion to $9.9 billion.
“Fourth-quarter sales are expected to reach the highest quarterly levels in company history,” said Chief Executive Gregory Spierkel. “We expect solid top-line growth in every region.”
The outlook comes on the heels of better-than-expected results for the third quarter.
The company reported sales of nearly $9 billion, up 15% from a year earlier and beating analysts’ expectation of about $8.4 billion.
Profits totaled about $72 million, up 24% from the year ago quarter. Analysts were looking for $67 million.
Ingram beat its own outlook. In July, the company said it expected profits of $67 million to $71 million on sales of $8.3 billion to $8.5 billion.
The company said it got a boost from sales outside the U.S. because of the weaker dollar.
It also saw increased demand for the goods it distributes to stores and other resellers in Europe and Asia.
“Our record sales were driven primarily by robust growth in Asia-Pacific and Europe,” said Chief Executive Gregory Spierkel. “European demand was firm throughout the quarter, fueled by a strong back-to-school season in many countries.”
