Shares in Computacenter jumped on Friday as the firm upgraded its profit forecast after cheering a surge in customer demand. The FTSE 250 IT supplier said it now expects to “deliver a much stronger performance” with 2026 pre-tax profit set to come in well ahead of market expectations of £291m. The Hertfordshire-based business said customers were ordering IT products further in advance than usual to secure supply, given hardware component shortages currently affecting the IT industry.
Computacenter said: “We remain mindful of the uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical environment and a tougher comparative in the second half of the year. “However, after a strong start to the year and assuming no significant deterioration to the external backdrop, we now anticipate delivering full-year results comfortably ahead of market expectations.” Computacenter shares rose as much as five per cent to 3,500p in the opening minutes of trade on Friday. The firm’s shares have risen by around 20 per cent since the start of the year. This story is being updated, more to follow.