Gross profit, gross margin and adjusted EBITDA all up year-on-year as distributor doubles down on software and services
Johannesburg, South Africa – 27 May, 2025 – Westcon-Comstor, a global technology provider and specialist distributor, today announced record annual gross sales of US $5.24 billion, fuelled by strong growth in cybersecurity and an acceleration in its shift to software and services.
The gross sales figure for the year ended 28 February 2025 (FY25) represents a 3.3% year-on-year increase (FY24: $5.08bn).
Gross profit jumped 9.4% to $441 million (FY24: $403m), with strong and consistent growth in profitability in each of Westcon-Comstor’s three operating regions: Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC).
Gross margin rose to 22.4% (FY24: 18.2%*) on revenue of $1.97bn.
Adjusted EBITDA** increased by nearly 25% to $149.9m (FY24: $120.2m), with a further improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin to 7.6% (FY24: 5.4%*).
Gross sales from cybersecurity increased 19.3% year-on-year and accounted for more than half (51%) of Westcon-Comstor’s gross sales in FY25. Growth was fuelled by an expansion of collaborations with cybersecurity vendors and the success of the distributor’s value-added offerings for partners and vendors, spanning data, enablement and education.
Hardware now accounts for just a third (32%) of gross sales as Westcon-Comstor accelerates its transition away from traditional hardware towards recurring revenues based on annual subscriptions and cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) models.
Gross sales from software increased 22.2% to $2.33bn (FY24: $1.91bn), with software making up 44% of gross sales (FY24: 38%).
Recurring sales, for example from software and services, now represent 66% of gross sales (FY24: 60%), as Westcon-Comstor embraces solution lifecycle selling and moves to a recurring revenue model in line with the transformation journey being pursued by its partners and vendors.
FY25 also saw the distributor deepen relationships with core vendors across cybersecurity, networking and cloud, with a focus on delivering even greater value by increasing distribution-led sales.
This group of nine vendors accounted for 80% of gross sales during the year at $4.20bn, with year-on-year growth of 4.9% outstripping overall gross sales growth.
“I’m thrilled to mark another year of exceptional financial and operational performance, with strong progress against our core strategic objectives and a continued relentless focus on delivering partner success,” said David Grant, CEO at Westcon-Comstor. “Distribution is evolving and we’re proud to be at the forefront of this change, enabling partners and vendors to grow through our suite of value-added services and market-leading programmes. In a changing world, we are proud to be a future-ready business that combines best-in-class data and digital platforms with deep relationships, leading market shifts and anticipating change to empower our partners and vendors to stay ahead of the curve. I’d like to pay tribute to our 3,700-plus employees around the world for their dedication and creativity. Without our people and the ambitious culture they embody, results like this wouldn’t be possible.”
“FY25 was a year of strong progress for Westcon-Comstor in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region,” said Rakesh Parbhoo, Executive Vice President, Middle East and Africa at Westcon-Comstor. “Locally we saw an increase in profitability as our data-driven strategy and unique range of value-added services continued to bear fruit. With talented people across the region, a strong vendor portfolio and expertise in high-growth technology domains, we can look ahead with confidence to FY26 and the longer-term future.”
*Changes to accounting treatment mean restated FY24 revenue totals have been used
**Adjusted EBITDA excludes restructuring, share-based compensation expense and one-off tax items impacting EBITDA
