Esprinet: How did a single supplier put a €17m dent in the Italian distributor's profits?

On the surface of it, Italy's largest distributor Esprinet had a barnstorming 2018. The Vimercate-based firm grew consolidated revenues by 11 per cent year on year to €3.57bn, and adjusted EBIT by a phenomenal 17 per cent to €40m. But dig a little deeper and a different picture emerges. Esprinet's actual earnings before taxes plummeted by 33 per cent to €23m, and by an even greater 59 per cent in Q4 to €8m. So what happened to the southern European distributor last year? When I caugh...