Northamber has tumbled to a small first quarter loss as it lamented the weak economic backdrop and swift erosion of sterling.

In an interim management statement, the London-listed distributor admitted turnover was also “significantly lower” than the same period last year, forcing it to reduce its workforce.

It was not all doom and gloom, however, as its ploy to ditch low margin business boosted its gross profit margin from 6.4 to 7.1 per cent year on year.

“Following our established and deliberate policy of seeking higher quality returns rather than turnover for its own the sake, gross margins, as a percentage of turnover, for the first quarter increased over the comparative period last year,” it stated.

The distributor, which turned over £180m in its last financial year to 30 June, also claimed its strong cash position would help it weather the storm.

“The strength of our balance sheet and infrastructure, including our cash reserves standing at £11 million at the quarter end, and our demonstrated ability to maximise opportunities and contain costs, should provide that we are in a good position to benefit from any positive change in circumstances and weather the situation in the meantime," it said.