Systemax Cites E-Commerce As Key To 3Q Growth

The profit figure represented a 41 percent increase over the year-ago quarter.

The Port Washington, N.Y.-based company credited its e-commerce sales and the reorganization it completed earlier this year as key to its improved results.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Systemax said its revenue reached $1.4 billion, compared with $1.2 billion for the same period a year earlier, while its profit reached $5.8 million, compared with $5 million for the same period in 2003.

Earlier this year, the $1.5 billion company announced a broad restructuring that called for workforce reductions and streamlining operations. Systemax, which is a parent to several independent units, now operates its custom-system business largely through its TigerDirect, InfoTel and SystemaxPC units. Systemax also recently opened ProfitCenter Software, which focuses on business-automation applications, among other things.

The company said its Web-based sales jumped 23 percent year over year and now account for more than a quarter of overall revenue.

In releasing Systemax's financial results, Chairman and CEO Richard Leeds said the company saw strength in sales in North America while sales in some of its European operations remained below expectations due to "unsettled" economic conditions.

Leeds also said selling, general and administrative costs continued to drop following the restructuring, which involved eliminating 250 jobs in both North America and Europe and consolidating warehousing, purchasing and marketing operations.

Systemax shares have traded between $6 and $6.50 in the past several months and have been as high as $8 in the past year.