Irish forecourt retailer, Applegreen, saw its revenue jump 21% in 2018 to just over €2 billion, improving on an already impressive 2017, when it earned €1.4 billion.
According to the company’s recently released Annual Report, non-fuel gross profit also rose drastically, by 34% to €186.2 million, compared to €113.6 million in 2017.
Its adjusted EBITDA also increased, by 26%, to €58.1 million, while it was just shy of €40 million in 2017.
It also greatly increased its site count, reaching 472 stores now across Ireland, the UK, and the US, a 33% increase on 2017.
M&A Boost
The forecourt retailer most notably welcomed one of the UK’s largest motorway service operator, Welcome Break, into its operations last year, acquiring a majority 50.01% stake in the company for €361.8 million.
Applegreen also forged new brand partnerships during the year, including Starbucks, KFC, and Pret a Manger, to add to an already existing list of brands including Burger King, Subway, Costa Coffee, Greggs, Lavazza, Chopstix, Freshii and 7-Eleven.
“Good like for like earnings growth from existing sites, combined with the enhanced contribution from the new site acquisitions resulted in adjusted EBITDA increasing by 46% to €58.1 million,” Daniel Kitchen, company chairman, said.
“This reflects the hard work and dedication of Applegreen staff at all levels of the business and the ability of the management team to execute on our growth strategy,” he added.
Robert Etchingham, the group's CEO, added that the performance was driven by the “ongoing expansion of our estate, positive like for like growth despite weather-related disruption and strong fuel margin performance, particularly in the fourth quarter of the year”.
“Under the leadership of Chief Operating Officer, Joe Barrett, I am pleased to say that our operations have grown significantly during the year,” he explained.
Core Market Drive
While performance in the UK and the US was above satisfactory, the Republic of Ireland continues to be the group’s core market and contributed 48% of its total gross profit in 2018.
The group introduced 16 new sites, including three Service Area sites, four Petrol Filling Station sites, and nine dealer sites.
Total fuel gross profit increased by 16.9% compared to 2017, and increased by 9.7% on a like for like basis, reflecting the company’s acquisition of the Joint Fuel Terminal in 2017.
Like for like non-fuel sales and gross profit increased year on year by 3.3% and 2.0%, respectively, despite the adverse weather seen in the first half of the year.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
