Forecourt retailer Maxol posts profit surge for 2021

Forecourt retailer Maxol posts profit surge for 2021

Irish-owned fuel forecourt retailer Maxol more than tripled its profits in 2021, new accounts show.

Revenues at Maxol Oil Ltd bounced back by 29 per cent in 2021, hitting £208.9 million for the year to December 31 2021, well within range of its pre-covid annual performance.

But the firm’s pre-tax profits soared past pre-pandemic levels, jumping 138 per cent year-on-year to £9.5m, three times the pre-tax profit the firm recorded in 2018.

In a business review accompanying the accounts lodged with Companies House, Maxol’s directors said that unlike many other retailers, it had been able to continuing trading during several Covid lockdowns, albeit often at much lower activity levels than usual, the Irish News reported.

The company said it also benefited from the “substantial investment” and greater management focus over the previous five years, directed at improving its supply chain and developing its convenience and food service offerings.

“Combined with a recovery in domestic spending in the summer and second half of 2021, as businesses re-opened and many families chose to staycation in Ireland, these factors made a significant contribution to the outcome for the year.”

The directors also paid tribute to the group’s staff and its “strong network of independent retailers”, adding that investing in “an ever-increasing focus on the non-petroleum product aspects of its operations will continue to help it navigate the many likely challenges” for the industry in the coming years.