The resurgence of Electrocomponents is extraordinary and has taken many by surprise. Perhaps it should not have. The electronics distributor was in a bad way when its chief executive, Lindsley Ruth, took over two years ago. It is a global business with low margins and largely fixed costs, so any improvement or deterioration in revenues can have a disproportionate effect on the bottom line.
It is also a business almost entirely dependent on world economic trends, and whether manufacturers are or are not confident enough to create new product lines. The problem with that resurgence, and a strong financial year and trading update, is how much of it is due to management action and how much to those global trends.
Looking at the US numbers,