Premier dives after struggle

ELECTRONIC components distributor Premier Farnell said today that operating profit fell 12% to £21.7m in the first quarter of the year as market conditions failed to improve.

The company said that sales were off by 12.5% at £180.5m, excluding the contribution from the recently acquired Buck & Hickman business.

The decline reflected the sharp fall in the North American and European electronic components markets. However, Premier said there were signs that conditions were 'slowly improving'.