Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc., the biggest distributor of computers, software and other technology products, on Thursday gave a muted outlook for the current quarter.
In typical Ingram style, Chief Executive Greg Spierkel gave comments about the current quarter but no financial guidance.
Spierkel said first-quarter sales are projected to “follow a historical seasonal pattern” with “modest year-over-year growth.”
He said the company is set to focus on managing its costs and “strategic investments.”
The muted outlook comes on the heels of Ingram’s record results for the fourth quarter, which trounced Wall Street’s expectations.
Excluding charges for write-downs on assets, restructuring, income taxes and other onetime costs, Ingram saw $115 million in profits, up 19% from a year earlier and beating analysts’ expected $105 million in profits.
The company reported sales of $9.88 billion, up 12% from a year earlier and beating analysts’ expectations of $9.57 billion in sales.
Ingram runs on the slimmest of profits—it nets pennies on the dollars.
In recent years, the company has focused on providing its reseller customers more services that get better profit margins, including help with financing and logistics.
Ingram ended the year with more than $1 billion in cash and short-term assets.
Investors shrugged off the news.
Shares were flat in afterhours trading on a recent market value of $3 billion.
