Computacenter now expects at least £425 million of adjusted profit before tax for 2026, after a third quarter ahead of its expectations. Its 26 October trading update also reports a £12.6 billion committed product-order backlog. The two figures describe different things: one is an annual earnings forecast, the other is outstanding orders.
What changed in the outlook
The technology and services provider says its Q3 performance and start to Q4 support the higher outlook. The trading update covers the quarter ended 30 September 2026 and uses unaudited financial information. Adjusted profit before tax is an adjusted earnings measure before tax, not reported net profit or cash already received.
| Measure | Disclosure | Primary evidence |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2026 adjusted pre-tax profit | Expected to be no less than £425 million | RNS 3574A, Group outlook |
| Company-compiled analyst consensus | £387.1 million; range £380.8–£395.3 million, as cited at release | RNS 3574A, footnote 2 |
| Committed product-order backlog | £12.6 billion at Q3-end versus £9.3 billion at June-end | RNS 3574A, Group outlook |
| Backlog basis | Outstanding vendor purchase orders against non-cancellable customer sales orders, for delivery within 12 months, on a gross invoiced-income basis | RNS 3574A, footnote 1 |
Why backlog is not revenue
The backlog definition concerns orders still to be delivered. It should not be presented as recognised sales, profit or an immediate cash receipt. Computacenter attributes strong Technology Sourcing growth mainly to hyperscale and neocloud customers in North America and the UK. It also says Professional Services growth more than offset a decline in Managed Services revenue.
What investors can check next
Subsequent disclosures can show how delivery and costs affect the annual result. The next scheduled pre-close trading update is 28 January 2027; that is a timetable, not a result available now. Management’s outlook remains forward-looking and may differ from actual performance. No share-price response is asserted here.
Primary sources: Computacenter’s issuer-hosted RNS 3574A (extraction observed 2026-10-26T10:54:31.839Z) and its linked PDF version (observed 2026-10-26T10:55:01.268Z), dated 26 October 2026. Those UTC times correspond to 16:24–16:25 IST. They reproduce the same company announcement, not independent corroboration.
AI-assisted report checked against the linked issuer disclosure; this is not independent human editorial approval. Publisher-designated author: Tatai. Information only, not investment advice.
Recorded source observation: . This is a source-check timestamp, not a market quote or a new article update.