EG Group sees Q2 revenues jump, but earnings are hit by market volatility
Second quarter EBITDA at Blackburn-based EG Group fell 6.5%, new figures have revealed.
But the global petrol forecourts and fast food group said early trials of its ultra-fast electric vehicle charging proposition, ‘EV Point’, have proved very popular, leading to an uptick in sales at its associated foodservice and grocery and merchandise outlets.
Financial figures for the three month period to June 30, 2022, showed group EBITDA fell from $380m in the same period last year to $355m, on a reported basis.
The group said this was primarily due to adverse foreign currency movements, alongside the impact of ongoing inflationary and cost-of-living pressures on customer behaviour.
Total revenues, on a reported basis, were $8.306bn for the reporting period, up from $6.717bn a year ago.
Gross profits in the grocery and merchandise division were $346m, up from $345m the previous year. Foodservice gross profits were $177m, up from $160m a year ago, driven by acquisitions which took the total number of outlets to 1,889, while the fuel gross profit of $511m compared with $478m in 2021.
Net debt, during the period, increased by $52m to $9.403bn, while the group’s liquidity headroom decreased by $378m to $971m, linked to the OMV settlement on May 1, 2022, in a deal to buy 285 forecourts in Germany.
Following ‘anti-trust’ clearance from the German Federal Cartel Office, EG must sell 48 forecourt sites, of which 24 are EG sites and 24 OMV stations. At the end of the 2022 second quarter, two sites were disposed of, with the remaining 46 sites being divested in the third quarter.
EG Group also announced today (September 1) that it has appointed Michael Bradley as group chief financial officer to replace Paul Altschwager, who has informed the board that he will step down as group CFO and leave EG Group in July 2023, following a transition to Michael.
Michael joins from High Speed Two (HS2), Britain’s new high speed rail line, where he has been CFO since 2018. He brings more than 25 years of experience to the role, operating at board level, supporting businesses in both the public and private sectors, where he has led finance, IT and business-wide transformation in large complex organisations
The group’s first ESG report is being prepared and due to be published during the final quarter of 2022.
EG said its proprietary branded ultra-fast electric vehicle charging proposition, ‘EV Point’, was launched in August 2022 at its flagship Frontier Park site in Blackburn.
It said early trials have seen a significant percentage of EV customers completing purchases in the group’s foodservice and grocery and merchandise outlets while charging their vehicle, demonstrating the value created by EG’s highly complementary multi-proposition site operations
Zuber Issa, co-founder and co-CEO of EG Group, said: “Despite a backdrop of challenging market conditions, we continued to perform resiliently in the second quarter of the year, supported by our geographically diverse portfolio and complementary foodservice, grocery and merchandise, and fuel operations.
“The cost-of-living squeeze remains front of mind for all of us, and the group is laser-focused on supporting our employees and helping customers with value for money at this time.
“EG’s robust performance over the quarter has demonstrated our adaptability, and while the economic outlook remains uncertain, we look forward to the second half of the year confident in our ability to outperform the wider market.”
He added: “Alongside acting as a responsible global convenience retailer, we recognise our role in contributing to a more sustainable future.
“We are pleased to be trialling our own-branded ultra-fast electric vehicle chargers in the UK and plan to introduce them to additional locations by the end of this year. This investment further supplements our existing network of approximately 250 electric charging points across 98 sites in the UK and Ireland, Germany and France. We also continue to explore the delivery of other low carbon fuels alongside our planned EV roll-out.
“Finally, we have announced today that Michael Bradley has been appointed as group CFO, replacing Paul Altschwager who is stepping down. I would like to thank Paul for his contribution and look forward to working with Michael who has broad expertise and experience across various business sectors.”
