Raspberry Pi boosts Premier Farnell

The Leeds-based group said sales per day returned to year on year growth of 2.8 per cent thanks to strong sales of Raspberry Pi, the new credit card sized computer, and its associated products.

Excluding sales of Raspberry Pi, group sales fell 0.6 per cent year on year compared with the fourth quarter year on year decline of 6.4 per cent.

Group sales increased 5.7 per cent during the group’s first quarter covering the three months to May 5.

Its active customer base grew 2.0 per cent year on year, excluding the benefit of Raspberry Pi, which was attributed to the group’s focus on service.

Chief executive Laurence Bain said: “We are pleased that our actions to enhance our proposition and drive sales have enabled the group to return to positive growth in the first quarter.

“However, current market conditions remain challenging with indicators still weak in all our global markets.

“We continue to enhance our customer proposition as we invest in inventory, systems and our differentiating multichannel sales strategy, starting with our

new global web platform which is currently being implemented in North America.”