Annual net income at Merrimack, NH-based PC Connection fell 53%, despite a nearly 7% increase in sales. For the year ended Dec. 31, the computer reseller netted $4.4 million on $1.44 billion in revenue. During 2004, it has posted net income of $8.3 million on $1.35 billion in sales.
For the fourth quarter, sales rose 17%, to $398.6 million from $339.6 million the previous year. Fourth-quarter 2005 revenue included $25.2 million from Amherst Technologies, a Manchester, NH-based IT solutions provider that it acquired in October 2005. Net income for the quarter was “essentially break even,” according to the company, compared with $2.1 million the previous year.
In a statement, CEO Patricia Gallup noted that “the fourth quarter 2005 was an investment quarter for the company. In addition to the transitional costs related to the purchase of Amherst Technologies assets, our fourth-quarter results were affected by the company’s increased investments in customer acquisition programs and other marketing initiatives. We also experienced lower-than-anticipated gross margins due primarily to product mix and our targeting of high-value customers.”