Revenue plunge unsettles Northamber

Chairman David Philips admits it is "not possible to be sanguine" about broadliner's future

Revenue plunge: Full-year sales sank to £139.3m

Northamber’s chairman was in a sombre mood after the broadline distributor fell to a full-year operating loss and saw revenues plunge 22 per cent.

The London-listed outfit saw revenue for its fiscal year to 30 June nose-dive from £179.7m to £139.3m.

Although Northamber managed to turn a £304,000 first-half pre-tax loss into a small £47,000 full-year annual profit, operating losses hit £302,000 despite efforts to trim costs. Net cash improved by £816,000 to £14.1m.

Chairman David Phillips said in a statement that the revenue slide reflected the “severe recession” in the commercial market as well as price erosion.

Northamber has recently lost some high-profile vendor franchises, and Phillips said new signings secured since the year end would be unlikely to make a strong contribution to first-half revenues.

“With the experience of the recent past, and current negative predictions, it is not possible to be sanguine about the future,” he admitted.

“We shall therefore continue, as we have in the past, to manage our resources to
the best of our ability and to seek opportunities wherever we can.”

Northamber also revealed that its headcount has fallen to 165, from an average of 190 last year.