Pretax profits at Circle K Ireland Energy almost halved to €6.9 million last year, according to new accounts.
Filings for Circle K Energy Ireland Ltd show they dropped by 46 per cent as revenues declined 27 per cent from €1.72 billion to €1.25 billion in the 12 months to the end of last April. It reported pretax profits of €12.7 million in 2023.
The main activity of the company is the marketing and distribution of fuel products – Circle K reports its retail revenues through a separate company.
Its directors stated that “lower selling prices for fuel and petroleum products reflected the decline in commodity market prices and resulted in revenue that was lower than in the prior year”.
The company’s cost of sales also declined by a corresponding 27 per cent from €1.66 billion to €1.2 billion.
Gross profit of €39.8 million was 28 per cent below the previous year’s figure of €55.77 million, “resulting in gross margin percentages remaining reasonably stable across both years” according to the directors.
Operating profits decreased by 28 per cent from €15.34 million to €10.95 million, while higher net finance expenses of €3.98 million contributed to the decrease in the pretax profit of €6.9 million.
The company recorded a post-tax profit of €5.58 million after incurring a corporation tax charge of €1.3 million.
Numbers employed in the Republic decreased from 150 to 147 while staff costs increased marginally from €8.92 million to €8.96 million. Staff costs included €283,000 in redundancy, following a payout of €163,000 under that heading in fiscal 2023. Pay to directors increased from €1.29 million to €1.92 million.
Profits take account of non-cash depreciation costs of €6.5 million.
The Circle K brand looked to expand in Ireland last year with the purchase of nine forecourts and convenience shops from retail group Pelco, operated by Paul and Lynda Fitzgerald.
Pelco recorded revenues of €59 million and pretax profits of €1.43 million in 2023.
Last month, consumer watchdog the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) launched a full investigation into the proposed Circle K purchase.
Should the deal get the green light, the expansion would increase the total number of Circle K locations in Ireland to 419, while stores would increase from 168 to 177.
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