Petrol forecourt retailer Applegreen (APGN) is toasting increases in profits, revenue and growth, in its end of year financial statement for 2017.

Gross profit year on year grew by 25%, while like-for-like growth reached 7.4% in non-fuel gross profit.

Revenue increased by a notable 21% to reach €1.4bn, and its net debt position also improved, as it fell to €10.2m from €19.4m.

Looking to the future, the group are seeking to expand further to generate more growth, as capital expenditure is set to reach €113m.

The group’s estate numbers grew rapidly throughout last year, increasing by 99 sites to 342 sites, with a total of 77 food outlets opened in 2017.

Its acquisition of US chain Brandi Group saw it add 57 new sites in the USA, 42 in South Carolina and 15 in the North East.

Bob Etchingham, Applergreen’s CEO said: “We are very pleased to report another strong set of results for the business as we continue to deliver on our growth strategy. This performance was underpinned by positive like for like growth, particularly in the Republic of Ireland, ongoing expansion of our estate and an enhanced fuel margin resulting from our acquisition of a 50% stake in the Joint Fuels Terminal in Dublin Port.”

“The business saw significant expansion during the year as we increased our estate by 99 sites to a total of 342 locations. We opened 22 new sites in the Republic of Ireland, 20 in the UK and 57 in the US in 2017.”

“We are confident in the prospects for the company in 2018 as our underlying business continues to perform well and we further evolve our growth strategy. The significant acquisitions completed in 2017 are performing as expected and we are well placed to progress both our organic and acquisition led development plans in the coming year.”

Revenue in the UK increased by 22.4% and gross profit by 19.7% largely due to the continued expansion of the estate. Combined food and store sales and gross profit rose year on year by 15.2% and 20.6% respectively.

Sales in the Republic of Ireland increased by 12.3% and gross profit increased by 16.5%.

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