Petrogas Group Limited, the parent company of the Applegreen forecourt business, posted a pre-tax loss of €1.46 million in the year to end 31 December 2012, according to accounts just filed.
This is an improvement on the previous year's performance, when a pre-tax loss of €3.69 million was recorded.
Turnover at the group rose 14% to €337.5 million in the period, up from €296.4 million a year earlier.
In their report, the directors said that the company revalued its service stations during the year, resulting in an impairment of €721k in the profit and loss account for the year.
They noted that the group is undertaking a "corporate reorganisation to simplify its corporate structure", and added six new forecourt businesses to its portfolio over the course of the year.
"The company operates in a highly competitive market, with competitors drawn from local and very large scale multinational corporations," the directors said. "To mitigate this risk, we focus on delivering superior service at a competitive cost to our customers. To facilitate this at a profitable level, we aim to have the best economies of scale in the industry with central buying and distribution."
Staff numbers increased in the period, to 394 (2012: 328), however staff costs were reduced to €8.66 million, from €9.24 million a year earlier. Directors remuneration was valued at €511k (2012: €513k).
© 2013 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
