Trading Statement

Acal PLC
29 September 2004






FOR RELEASE                        07:00 hrs                   29 SEPTEMBER 2004

                                    ACAL plc
                                        
(A leading pan-European, value added distributor providing specialist design-in,
            sales and marketing services for international suppliers)
                                        
                                        
                                        
                        Pre-Close Period Trading Update
                                        
Ahead of the end of the first half of our financial year, we are issuing our
usual update on recent trading.

At the time of the Annual General Meeting held on 23 July 2004, John Curry, the
Chairman of Acal plc, said:-

"In the first quarter of this year total orders have been flat year-on-year
whereas the previous two quarters had shown growth of 5% over the corresponding
quarters a year earlier."

The pattern of the first quarter has continued and there is unlikely to be any
overall order growth in the second quarter of the current financial year.

We continue to trade in line with our expectations in the electronic components
and industrial control divisions, which are currently showing year-on-year 
growth in both sales and profits of around 10%. However, in the IT divisions
there has been no improvement in demand, particularly in continental Europe, and
we have seen some margin pressure in storage networking.

Although economic indicators remain positive and new supplier wins are helping,
current trading conditions in the IT divisions suggest that a cautious view
continues to be appropriate for the current financial year.

The interim results for the half year ending 30 September 2004 will be announced
on 6 December 2004.




For further information:-
Tony Laughton - Chief Executive                                     01483 544500
Jim Virdee - Finance Director                                       01483 544500
Brian Coleman-Smith - Beattie Financial                            020 7398 3300





Notes to Editors:-

1     The Acal Group is a leading European, value-added distributor providing 
specialist design-in, sales and marketing services for international suppliers 
in the fields of Electronic Components, Information Technology Products, IT 
Parts Services and Industrial Controls. Its value-added philosophy and 
geographic coverage enables Acal to provide specialist knowledge and support to 
customers on a pan-European basis.

2      Design-in is the process by which Acal's sales engineers work with 
customers and suppliers to procure components which meet the specific technical 
and performance needs of the customers.

3      Acal has operating companies in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, 
France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and the USA.



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