Profits accelerate at petrol group that bought Asda

PROFITS jumped by almost half at the petrol forecourt giant EG Group, whose founders snapped up Asda towards the end of 2020 in a £6.8bn deal, during its latest financial year.

The Lancashire group has posted earnings before tax of $1.272bn for the 12 months to December 31, 2020, up from $860m.

The group said it had achieved the increase ‘despite unprecedented and challenging conditions’ during the pandemic.

The group’s total revenue slipped from $22.386bn to $20.687bn over the same period while it fell from $22.110bn to $16.978bn on a like-for-like basis.

Mohsin Issa, co-founder and co-chief executive, said: “I am incredibly proud of EG’s strong performance in 2020, which is testament to the incredible dedication of our colleagues around the world, and demonstrates the resilience and diversification of our best-in-class business model.

“Despite the continued, unprecedented challenges of the Covid pandemic, we have continued to provide an essential service to millions of customers in our global communities, while also delivering continued growth in our profitability.

“At the same time, the group has continued to take significant and proactive steps forward in its longer-term development.”