UK's Softcat half-year revenue rises on AI demand, upgrades profit outlook

Softcat

18/03/2026 07:07

Overview

UK IT infrastructure provider's half-year revenue rose 53.5% yr/yr

Gross profit for the period increased 22.6% yr/yr, driven by broad-based growth

Company completed £45 mln share buyback in February and upgraded full-year profit guidance

Outlook

Softcat raises FY2026 underlying operating profit growth outlook to high single-digit from low single-digit

Company says ongoing memory shortages create uncertainty for the next period

Softcat sees strong demand driven by AI adoption and related infrastructure needs

Result Drivers

LARGER SOLUTIONS PROJECTS - Co said gross profit growth was supported by contribution from larger solutions projects and a pull forward of some customer orders due to memory shortages

AI-DRIVEN DEMAND - Co said customer demand for AI-enabled infrastructure and security is increasing, boosting sales across technology towers

INVESTMENTS AND ACQUISITIONS - Co attributed performance to investments in headcount, systems, and the acquisition of Oakland, which improved data, automation and AI consulting capabilities

Company press release: ID:nRSR0468Xa

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
H1 Revenue
GBP 837.50 bln
H1 Gross Margin
13.40%
H1 Gross Profit
GBP 269.90 mln
H1 Operating Profit
GBP 85.20 mln


Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 8 "strong buy" or "buy", 5 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the it services & consulting peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Softcat PLC is GBp1,800.00, about 56.5% above its March 17 closing price of GBp1,150.00

The stock recently traded at 15 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 20 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)