Bigger slice of the Pi boosts sales at Farnell

Raspberry Pi has proved very popular in schools where the mini computers are used to teach children the basics of IT in a fun way.

Leeds-based Premier said Raspberry Pi delivered sales of £15.0m in the six months to August 4, up from £4.0m in the first half of 2012.

Premier’s CEO Laurence Bain said: “Raspberry Pi has been a hugely successful product for us. We’ve sold a million over the world. The Pi continues to be a very important part of our strategy.

“We’re making it even easier to get into electronics and it looks like it could be a Raspberry Pi Christmas.”

Premier has launched a number of ancillary products to boost uptake of the Raspberry Pi such as WiFi options that link the Pi to the internet.

Other accessories include a robotics module, a camera option and Mr Bain said the group is very excited about the imminent launch of an audio chip.

“This will give the Pi music and top of the range audio,” he said.

Mr Bain said the enhancements have led to increasing interest from schools.

“Any student in maths or IT from the age of eight to undergraduate is interested,” he said

The Pi costs £22 and ancillary products cost extra. The WiFi connector costs around £10 and the camera option costs around £16.

Including the Pi, Premier announced a one per cent increase in half year revenues to £498.2m. Adjusted pre-tax profits fell 4.5 per cent to £37.0m.

Premier said sales excluding Raspberry Pi fell 1.4 per cent as overall market conditions remain subdued.

Analyst Robin Speakman, at Shore Capital, said: “Results for the company’s first half period are broadly in-line with our expectations, confirming that a return to growth remains a sluggish process.

“Revenues at £498m were around £6m higher than our forecast, driven by continued growth in Raspberry Pi, which appears a better performance than that seen at rival Electrocomponents where Pi sales stalled somewhat in its first quarter period through to July.”

He added that sales in the UK appear weak, down five per cent year on year.

In Continental Europe sales grew 3.8 per cent with Eastern Europe growing in double digits. In Asia Pacific sales rose 10 per cent year on year.

In North America sales continued to decline, by 2.4 per cent year on year, although they have been more encouraging of late.

Mr Bain said UK market conditions were more challenging than the rest of the world.

“We’re seeing an impact in areas hit by public sector costs, primarily in defence. We’re targeting segments where we see stronger growth such as energy, energy conservation, wireless power and healthcare.”

He said that the group sees “significant opportunities” in healthcare following the launch of devices that can track the state of people’s health on a continuous basis and send the information to an app.

The group said that its core business delivered a stable performance over the first half, despite the mixed conditions that hit some developed markets such as North America and the UK.

“Looking ahead to the second half, we continue to have limited forward order visibility and current market conditions remain variable,” said Mr Bain.

“However, we expect to continue to grow our active customer base, gain market share and drive financial performance.”

Over the first half, the active customer base grew 2.7 per cent, excluding the benefits of Raspberry Pi.

A new web platform has been implemented in Canada and roll-out across North America is now underway.

Premier said the new platform provides a better online experience and includes several features that make shopping easier.

In total, across the group there was a reduction in headcount of 90 last year from operations in 36 countries.

The group has over 4,000 employees.

No offices were closed in the first half of 2013 or last year. The group opened a contact centre in Krakow in Poland.