Petrol station giant EG Group sees profits surge

Update comes as industry is accused of exploiting energy crisis following Russia invasion of Ukraine

ONE of Britain’s largest petrol station operators has posted a leap in fuel profits as the industry is accused of exploiting the energy crisis.

EG Group, owned by the billionaire Issa family, posted a 15.3pc increase in like-for-like gross fuel profit to $476m (£380m) for the three months to the end of March, compared to $413m last year.

The results come amid a growing chorus of politicians and campaigners calling for a one-off tax as companies report record profits on the back of soaring energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Howard Cox, founder of the Fairfuel UK campaign, said: “Yet another big oil -based business wallowing in the fruits of geopolitical misfortune.

“This perennial rip-off scandal that we have been campaigning against for the last decade has reached levels of unchecked profiteering.

“No elected administration should dismiss any longer.”

EG Group said in the trading update that, despite a jump in fuel profits, the margins were less lucrative than the three months before “partially driven by increased market volatility due to the impact of geopolitical events on wholesale oil prices and demand”.

The group, which employs 50,000 staff and has more than 6,500 sites globally, has been growing at breakneck speed through a series of acquisitions. The most recent deal led to EG Group buying 200 forecourts in Germany.

Zuber Issa, co-founder and co-chief executive, said he expected the business to perform better than the wider market this year despite rampant inflation and a squeeze on budgets. Mr Issa added: “EG Group performed resiliently in the first three months of the year. Against an uncertain and fastchanging backdrop, the business continued to make good progress against its strategic objectives across the group’s operations.”

It confirmed that it expects to post audited results for the year just gone no later than August after it sought the approval of its investors and lenders for an extended timetable. EG Group’s previous set of results was also delayed owing to the pandemic. Auditors at KPMG took over from Deloitte in 2020 after the latter resigned abruptly because the business was too complex.

Total sales during the period rose by 25pc to $6.9bn from $5.5bn the year before, while underlying profits were up 2pc to $270m. The group was also boosted by earnings at popular outlets such as Subway, Greggs, Cinnabon and

‘This perennial rip-off scandal we campaign against has reached levels of unchecked profiteering’

Sbarro located on its forecourts. The Issas also own Asda alongside private equity firm TDR. The supermarket has started selling hundreds of low-price items, targeting households grappling with rising grocery and energy bills.

This month, the chairman of Tesco, John Allan, called for a windfall tax to be levied on energy giants’ profits in a move he said would help households struggling with the cost of living crisis.

Separately, when Dame Sharon White, chairman of John Lewis and Waitrose, was asked if such a policy should be introduced to subsidise those on lower incomes, she said: “It’s not perfect but given the severity and the urgency of the situation, I think it’s a reasonable approach.”