diff --git a/org.eclipse.sisu.plexus/src/org/codehaus/plexus/component/configurator/converters/AbstractConfigurationConverter.java b/org.eclipse.sisu.plexus/src/org/codehaus/plexus/component/configurator/converters/AbstractConfigurationConverter.java
index b02919c..f22f674 100644
--- a/org.eclipse.sisu.plexus/src/org/codehaus/plexus/component/configurator/converters/AbstractConfigurationConverter.java
+++ b/org.eclipse.sisu.plexus/src/org/codehaus/plexus/component/configurator/converters/AbstractConfigurationConverter.java
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
             {
                 result = evaluator.evaluate( value );
             }
-            if ( null == result )
+            if ( null == result && configuration.getChildCount() == 0 )
             {
                 value = configuration.getAttribute( "default-value" );
                 if ( null != value && value.length() > 0 )