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Could a special capital return be on Computacenter's agenda?

The IT reseller industry has enjoyed a strong bounce back from the world’s Covid reopening as customers line up to put in place digital strategies and adopt the latest technologies, and AI (artificial intelligence) levers are being pulled left, right and centre.
International player Computacenter (CCC) said in September 2023 that it sees another record year for profits and analysts have been quick to point out ‘exceptional’ cash flow from the business, which raises the possibility of a special capital return being unveiled when the company reports on 20 March.
This would be typical Computacenter, which regularly pays out surplus cash to shareholders, either as a special dividend or via a tender offer for shares.
It’s not guaranteed, however. Computacenter has been investing in its overseas operations, the US most interestingly, and management may feel that is a better use of its surplus cash as it looks to scale up its foothold. Either way, shareholders will still get a decent payout, with the company typically paying out something like 40% to 45% of earnings as normal dividends, implying a full year 2023 dividend of around 75p per share, based on consensus 172p EPS (earnings per share).
Forecast 2023 revenues are pitched at a fraction more than £7.3 billion, implying limited growth and illustrating Computacenter’s current focus on operational efficiency and value extraction.
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