Advance Pitstop, Ireland's biggest tyre-fitting business, said pretax profit rose 28 per cent last year as the company added more lucrative services and products and as finance costs declined.

Profit climbed to €1.29 million in 2005, up from €997,526 the previous year, according to the Dublin-based company's accounts.

Revenue rose 4.7 per cent to €37.4 million from €35.7 million a year earlier, and net income advanced to €1.13 million last year, up from €789,810 in 2004.

The company, a unit of German tyre giant Continental AG, is expanding its network to regional towns and moving away from its core tyre business as it strives to achieve higher margins.

Advance Pitstop is upgrading some branches with centres that can diagnose faults in vehicles and repair them, and revamping its waiting areas to make them more comfortable for customers, according to managing director Terry Lennon.

However, the adoption last year of FRS 17, which changed the accounting policies for pensions, narrowed the company's total recognised gain for 2005 to €76,365 from a restated €723,310 in 2004. Mr Lennon pointed out, though, that the company has shareholders' funds worth €4.4 million, cash of almost €6.6 million, and no debt.

Advance Pitstop has recovered from a controversy surrounding a Garda supply contract a number of years ago.

It was discovered that the company had been overpaid €254,000 in two years to supply tyres to the Garda, the comptroller and auditor general found in 2002. It also emerged that some members of the force had enjoyed golf holidays in Spain and Italy, paid for by the tyre supplier.