Premier Farnell posts profits rise - graduate jobs

Electronic components supplier Premier Farnell has posted a 75% rise in pre-tax profits - which could be good news for job-hunting graduates.

The Leeds firm said pre-tax profits for the final quarter grew from £17.2 million in 2010 to £23.7 million - the strongest final quarter sales growth for more than a decade.

Pre-tax profits for the year to the end of January were £90.3 million, according to the latest financial statement. This is compared with a figure of £53.5 million at the same time the previous year.

Figures also showed that revenue was up from £795.3 million to £990 million.

The firm revealed its marketing and distribution division saw its customer base grow by 5.9%. And a total of 51.1% of global MDD division sales in the final three months were attributed to eCommerce.

The firm also recorded sales growth in Greater China and India among other emerging markets, with rises of 39.8%, 74.0% respectively.