Texaco Ireland reports €9.1m loss

Texaco Ireland, part of Californian oil giant Chevron Texaco, reported a €9.1 million operating loss last year, citing increased competition and pressure on its margins.

However, sales jumped 23 per cent to €1.3 billion, according to the latest set of accounts for 2005 filed with the Companies Office. In this area the group's performance was helped by increases in the price of oil, which gained about 40 per cent during the year.

According to the accounts, the €9.1 million operating loss compares with an operating profit of €14.9 million a year earlier. The 2004 figures have been restated to take account of the way pension contributions are recorded.

There are about 250 Texaco-branded filling stations in the Republic, giving the group about a 15 per cent share in the forecourt retailing market.

Texaco Ireland, which employs 40 staff, owns some of the filling stations, but the majority are independently owned and operated.

While the reported increase in 2005 turnover is significant, the accounts show that €447.1 million of the total €1.3 billion was attributable to excise duty on fuel. Excluding this figure, revenue for 2005 stood at €853 million. In 2005 the group also reported a loss of €13.2 million relating to foreign exchange issues.

As well as owning filling stations, the company supplies petrol and diesel to a network of garages throughout the country.

The Chevron Texaco Corporation, led by Dublin-born businessman Dave O'Reilly, did not take a dividend from the Irish subsidiary last year.

The idea of increased competition contradicts the experience of the average car owner in the Republic, who is suffering as the number of roadside filling stations declines due to owners selling out to take advantage of high property prices. Moreover, a recent report showed that the number of filling stations in suburban locations had declined so significantly that drivers risked running out of fuel if they failed to fill up before leaving the city centre.

Adding to these concerns, speculation continues that Texaco may seek to follow in the footsteps of its rivals Statoil and Shell, who have both sold their Irish operations to Topaz.

Mr O'Reilly last month told a gathering in Dublin that the oil giant had no plans to sell its Irish business. In the accounts Texaco said it was its intention to continue "to take the necessary action to maintain the company's position and competitiveness in the market in Ireland".

No one at the company was available to comment on the accounts; however, a statement on the group's website said the recent changes in the market had simply presented the group with opportunities to expand further at the expense of its competitors.