PC Connection Targets More Market Share After Q1 2016 Growth

Despite a challenging technology buying market, PC Connection generated growth by focusing on its health care business, as well as mobility and advanced technologies, its CEO said Thursday.

’We are confident that our plan is on track and that our strategy is working,’ Timothy McGrath said about the company’s first-quarter numbers. He said PC Connection was able to produce strong gross margins.

In fact, the company’s overall margins were the highest in its history, at 14.4 percent, up 1.1 percent from the same quarter last year.

[RELATED: PC Connection Relishes Best Quarter In Company’s History]

McGrath said PC Connection’s margins were able to keep it on track during a difficult quarter for the industry, during which lower profitability, a volatile stock market and marketplace confusion regarding new product introductions caused many companies to delay large projects.

The Merrimack, N.H.-based company -- No. 20 on CRN’s Solution Provider 500 – reported revenue of $77.6 million, up 6 percent over the same quarter in 2016 and net income of $9.1 million, a jump of 5.6 percent over the first quarter of 2015.

McGrath said the growth was driven by the company’s health care business, along with its hardware and software segments.

’We continue to focus on connecting health care customers with customized solutions’ in what he called a ’specialized vertical,’ he said. McGrath added that PC Connection sees health care as a growing space for the foreseeable future, having grown 13 percent in the first quarter over the first quarter of last year.

McGrath said mobility, the company’s largest product category, will continue to be a focus. Its sales increased 8 percent year over year and accounted for 24 percent of net sales in the first quarter, up slightly from 22 percent, according to company data.

PC Connection is also focusing on advanced technologies in its software segment, he said. That segment grew 4 percent year over year and accounted for 17 percent of net sales, up from 16 percent last year.

’Our software business continues to grow, including cloud, virtualization and security,’ he said. ’We are also seeing very strong growth in converged infrastructure … We are investing in complex areas in order to help our customers drive their business outcomes through IT investments. ’

Looking ahead, McGrath said PC Connection hopes to outrun a projected industry growth of 2 to 3 percent for the rest of the ear with the right investments.

’Our goal is to achieve faster-than-market growth by taking market share,’ he said.

’We must add value every day for our customers and our vendor partners in order to take market share and increase our relevancy in the IT supply chain,’ McGrath said.