Problems running SUMIF on a haystack of formulae

[Zukovsky]

Hi all,

I have a small problem and was looking for some help. Running Excel 2003.

I have a sumif(needle, haystack, values) statement, where the needle is a long number, and the list of values in the haystack contains the needle. Yet the sumif does not retrieve the value for the needle in the haystack!

ie. the needle is 112212397, and the haystack contains 112212397 with a value of £27,000. Yet, the statement returns £0.00. Breaking this down in the analyzer, it comes up with this:
sumif(needle, #VALUE, values)

In my experience, this usually means that there is a problem with the haystack. So looking at my haystack now, I can only see one problem - and that is that the 112212397 number in the haystack is actually =CONCATENATE((100+C3),(200+D3),(300+E3)).

Is the fact that the haystack is a list of formulae messing up the SUMIF statement, and if so - how do I go about putting it right?

Thanks in advance,

Martin