(RTTNews) - IT products distributor Tech Data Corp. (TECD: News ) Monday reported a profit for the third quarter that more-than doubled from last year, mainly reflecting lower foreign currency exchange losses. Meanwhile, net sales declined from the prior year, as Americas and Europe experienced softened demand environment, yet sales beat market projections. Looking ahead, the Clearwater, Florida-based company said it expects low-to-mid single digit sales growth in the fourth quarter.

Third-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of Tech Data surged 157% to $43.14 million or $0.84 per share, from $16.80 million or $0.33 per share last year.

On average, nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.71 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

For the latest third quarter, the company recorded $962 thousand in net foreign currency exchange losses, while prior year results were affected by a $23.49 million foreign currency exchange loss related to extreme foreign currency volatility and the use of certain portions of inventory as a hedge against foreign currency exposures in accounts payable.

The company also said its prior year results were adjusted to reflect a new standard by the Financial Accounting Standards Board that changes the accounting treatment for convertible debt instruments.

In its preceding second quarter, Tech Data's net income attributable to shareholders of the company was $35.16 million or $0.70 per share.
Net sales for the third quarter declined 8.1% to $5.64 billion from $6.14 billion in the same quarter last year, yet beat seven Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. The company noted that the drop in revenues reflected some moderation in the overall decline in IT spending.

The strengthening of certain foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar positively impacted third-quarter net sales comparison by about two percentage points.

Sequentially, net sales for the third quarter increased 8.8% from $5.18 billion from the second quarter, with about three percentage points growth from stronger foreign currencies.

Tech Data was projecting third-quarter sales to decline year-over-year, but with some moderation compared to the decline in the first half of the fiscal year. The estimated decline was due to the current economic environment and related decline in IT spending, combined with the potential strengthening of the U.S. dollar against certain foreign currencies.

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