First-quarter sales at Merrimack, NH-based PC Connection decreased 23%, to $326.2 million, down from 423.7 million for the same period in 2008. For the period ended March 31, the company posted a net loss of $1.6 million, compared to net income of $4.8 million last year.
Net sales for the small- and medium-sized business (SMB) segment decreased 28.2%, to $172.4 million. Net sales for MoreDirect, the company’s large account segment, sank 22.6%, to $90.7 million. According to a company release, MoreDirect saw large enterprise customers delay IT purchases and redeploy excess equipment due to corporate layoffs during “this period of unprecedented economic instability.”
The computers merchant’s net sales to government and education customers (public sector segment) slipped 4.9%, to $63.1 million.
PC Connection chairman/CEO Patricia Gallup said in a release: “During the quarter, the overall economy and correspondingly our revenues, declined at a faster pace than anticipated. As previously announced, we took corrective actions in mid-March to align our expense levels with lower sales volumes. Should we continue to see a decline in demand, we are committed to making further cost reductions as needed.”
Gallup added: “Our balance sheet is strong as evidenced by our record $68 million of cash and absence of bank debt. We believe we are well positioned to increase market share during this downturn and to grow our business as the economic climate improves.”