Trading Statement

Electrocomponents PLC
30 March 2006







Electrocomponents plc - Trading Update



Electrocomponents plc, the leading international high-service distributor of
electronic, electrical and industrial supplies, is today giving a trading update
ahead of its results for the year ending 31 March 2006.



In the second half of the year, Group sales (adjusted for exchange rates and
trading days) continued to strengthen with sales growth of 7% compared with 3%
growth in the first half.  Within this, the International business has grown by
15% (compared with 9% in the first half) with improvements in all regions, most
notably in Europe and North America.  The UK declined at 2% (compared with a
decline of 4% in the first half).



Gross margin is expected to be around 51% in the second half of the year, down
from 52% in the first half due to changes in selling prices, targeted customer
discounts and product mix.



The Enterprise Business System went live in the UK in December and has
successfully supported the UK business and the Group hub since then.  At around
£25m, EBS costs for the financial year are in line with expectations.



At the half year, the Group anticipated that the forthcoming RoHS Directive
could require an additional stock provision of up to £4m and this will now be
provided for in the full year accounts.



The programme to create a lower cost infrastructure continues and reorganisation
costs of around £4m have been incurred in the full year, which are expected to
have an annualised benefit of around £4.5m.



The Board expects that Group profit (before tax, reorganisation costs, and the
one off provision for the RoHS directive) for the year ended 31 March 2006 will
be in line with current market expectations.



The full results for the year will be announced on 1 June 2006.



There will be a telephone conference call today at 09.00am for analysts and
investors. Dial-in instructions are set out below.



Enquiries:


Ian Mason              Group Chief Executive             01865 204000
Simon Boddie           Group Finance Director            01865 204000
Diana Soltmann         Flagship Consulting               020 7886 8440








Details of telephone dial in instructions:




Date:                                            30 March 2006
UK Time:                                         08:50am for 09:00 am

UK Local Call Dial-In:                           0845 144 0016
UK Free Call Dial In:                            0800 953 0937
Europe & International Dial-In:                  + 44 (0) 1452 569 103
Canada Toll Free Dial In:                        1800 795 6202
USA Toll Free Dial-In:                           1 866 224 2914
Quote Reference Number:                          6416822
Chairman:                                        Ian Mason

                                                 Electrocomponents plc





Safe Harbour Statement:



This announcement contains certain statements, statistics and projections that
are or may be forward-looking. The accuracy and completeness of all such
statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future
financial position, strategy, projected costs, plans and objectives for the
management of future operations of Electrocomponents plc and its subsidiaries is
not warranted or guaranteed. These statements typically contain words such as '
intends', 'expects', 'anticipates', 'estimates' and words of similar import. By
their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because
they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future.
Although Electrocomponents plc believes that the expectations reflected in such
statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will
prove to be correct. There are a number of factors, many of which are beyond the
control of the Electrocomponents plc, which could cause actual results and
developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements.




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