Systemax shares soar after 4th-quarter results; earnings jump 84 percent from a year ago

Systemax shares soar after 4Q results

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — Shares of Systemax Inc., an electronics retailer, shot higher Tuesday after the company said its fourth-quarter earnings jumped 84 percent.

The company said it has benefited from recent acquisitions as well as bargain-hunting holiday shoppers.

Janney Capital Markets reiterated a “Buy” rating on the company in a note Tuesday, predicting double-digit revenue growth over the next two years driven by PC sales and new store openings.

The stock was up $3.03, or 17 percent, to $20.71 in afternoon trading, and earlier reached a new 52-week high of $20.80. Shares have traded between $9.74 and $18.24 over the past year.

Systemax snapped up the trademarks and Web site of Circuit City last year after the company filed for bankruptcy. It made the same move with struggling CompUSA in 2008.

In a statement, CEO Richard Leeds said the most recent quarter benefited from the company’s acquisition last year of WStore Europe SA, a European supplier of business information technology products.

Systemax said Monday that it earned $18.4 million, or 49 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31. That’s up from $10 million, or 27 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Revenue climbed 15 percent to $938.2 million.

Full-year earnings slipped to $46.2 million, or $1.24 per share, down 13 percent from $52.8 million, or $1.40 per share, the year before. Revenue edged up 5 percent to $3.17 billion.