Forecourt retailer Applegreen has reported a strong start ahead of its AGM, which is due to take place in the Herbert Park hotel in Dublin today.
"Trading for the overall Group has been in line with expectations for the first five months of 2019," its chairman, Daniel Kitchen said.
The legacy Applegreen business is performing strongly year on year notwithstanding prior year comparators were negatively impacted by adverse weather events, the group said in its trading update.
"We are pleased with the performance of the business in Ireland where trading conditions remain good," Kitchen added.
UK & US Performance
Kitchen highlighted that in the UK, the performance of Welcome Break has been satisfactory despite more challenging trading conditions in 2019 as ongoing uncertainty surrounding Brexit has impacted on consumer sentiment.
"The management team has successfully integrated this business and we continue to progress with the delivery of synergy benefits," he added.
"The US business is performing well and we continue to explore new opportunities in this market."
Revenue Jump
In May this year, the Irish forecourt retailer, reported a 21% revenue jump 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.
Last year, it also greatly increased its site count, reaching 472 stores now across Ireland, the UK, and the US, a 33% increase on 2017.
New Sites
Over the past five months, the group said in a statement, six new sites were added in the Republic of Ireland and three new sites in the UK.
The group also converted a further two sites in the US to 7-Eleven convenience stores.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
