PC slump pushes Northamber into the red

Distributor swings to £1.05m annual loss as revenues plunge by nearly a quarter

Northamber has sunk to a seven-figure annual loss after admitting it was caught cold by the sudden slump in PC shipments earlier this year.

For its year ending 30 June, the distributor stumbled to a pre-tax loss of £1.05m, compared with a profit of £37,000 last time around. Revenues fell 23 per cent to £77.5m.

Northamber, which last month stepped off the main market of the London Stock Exchange and onto the AIM, has spent recent months and years striving to jettison "empty revenue" in favour of higher-margin non-PC hardware revenues.

"However, we were outpaced by the severity and speed of the latest downward twist in the spiral," said Northamber chairman David Phillips, referring to the sudden plunge in PC shipments recorded by the market watchers at the beginning of the year.

Redundancies made during the year hit profits but will result in ongoing savings of £800,000, Phillips added.

Phillips said he was "personally very sorry" Northamber had been forced to chop headcount and said he is "very grateful to remaining staff for their efforts".

"This is always an unhappy and distasteful process, both for those we have to lose and for those who remain and miss respected long-term friends and associates," he said. "The need to do so was absolute and understood by the staff who continue to work hard and with dedication to maintain the company.

"While the sector predictions do not offer any forecast of an early upturn in PC sector profitability, happily, management of our core financial strengths remains sound," added Phillips, stressing the distribute remains debt free with net cash of £6.13m.