Computacenter has raised its full-year profit expectations after third-quarter demand from large cloud infrastructure customers helped push its committed product order backlog to a record £12.6bn. The UK-listed IT infrastructure and services provider now expects adjusted profit before tax for 2026 of at least £425m, an upgrade that places its outlook ahead of the analyst consensus figure of £387.1m cited by the company.
The trading update covers the three months to 30 September and is based on unaudited information. Technology Sourcing revenue continued to grow strongly, particularly among hyperscale and neocloud customers in North America and the UK. These organisations buy substantial volumes of servers, networking equipment and related infrastructure to build out cloud and AI computing capacity. For a distributor and integrator, the resulting demand can lift reported technology sales sharply while also creating opportunities for technical services around the equipment.
Computacenter’s order backlog rose from £9.3bn at the end of June to £12.6bn at the end of September. The company defines this as the gross invoiced value of committed purchase orders placed with vendors against non-cancellable customer sales orders for delivery within 12 months. It is therefore a measure of contracted near-term business rather than an open-ended sales pipeline or a forecast of profit. The distinction is material because hardware revenue can involve different margins, costs and working capital requirements from professional services.
North America recorded particularly strong momentum, including record levels of project completion that supported both Technology Sourcing and Professional Services. UK operations also delivered excellent sourcing growth and solid professional services performance. Germany reported a robust underlying contribution in sourcing while professional services remained stable. The company continues to take action in Germany to align resources with demand and improve efficiency, indicating that growth conditions remain different across its principal territories.
Services revenue was ahead of the corresponding period last year. Organic Professional Services growth more than offset a decline in Managed Services revenue, revealing a mix shift within the group’s service activities. Professional Services work often accompanies complex infrastructure deployments and can involve design, integration and implementation. Managed Services generally relate to longer-running operating contracts. The balance can affect resource planning because large implementation programmes and recurring service commitments require different staffing and delivery models.
The upgraded guidance follows a strong first half, but Computacenter’s exposure to intensive infrastructure investment also creates execution requirements. A sizeable order book must be converted into delivered systems, customer acceptance and ultimately payment. Availability of components, site readiness, technical labour and vendor schedules can influence the timing. The company has not provided a detailed quarterly revenue or profit breakdown in the update, so the backlog and guidance should not be treated as evidence of an equivalent rise in net earnings.
The company has not disclosed a precise value of AI-only sales in the latest statement. Hyperscale and neocloud demand contributes to technology sourcing activity, but it would be misleading to classify the entire £12.6bn backlog as AI revenue. The portfolio covers equipment and associated services for a range of customer needs. Computacenter also operates across currencies and countries, with different procurement, delivery and margin characteristics. Investors evaluating the new guidance should distinguish the headline size of infrastructure orders from operating leverage and net cash generation. Large committed contracts can offer near-term visibility while still making execution, staffing and customer acceptance the principal operational tests.
Computacenter plans a capital markets event at its Hatfield integration centre on 24 November, with presentations covering North American growth and its European data-centre capabilities. A new liquid cooling facility is included in the planned visit, reflecting the engineering requirements associated with higher-density computing installations. The company expects its next routine trading update on 28 January 2027. Its latest figures indicate a stronger trading position entering the final quarter, while the quality of earnings and cash conversion will be assessed when fuller results become available.
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