The boss of Highland Fuels said yesterday he was looking to new business in the Western Isles to help propel the firm forward.
George Shand, the Inverness-based fuel supplier’s managing director, added that 2010 was already shaping up to be a better year than 2009.
Following a recent deal, Highland Fuels gained access to what was for a spell a monopolised market for wholesale fuel supplies in the Western Isles.
It acquired the Hebridean business of Brogan Fuels, which was taken over by Scottish Fuels parent GB Oils in a £42.5million deal late last year.
Brogan and Scottish Fuels had previously competed for business in the islands.
A fuel supply war between them led to a price drop of about 10p a litre at one stage but the takeover raised fears of price rises.
The Office of Fair Trading stepped in to restore competition and the enlarged group, accounting for the entire supply of heating oils and transport fuels to the islands, was asked to dispose of the Hebridean business.
Highland Fuels – Scotland’s largest independently owned fuel oil distributor – moved in to fill the gap and increase its coverage to all of Scotland.
The value of the acquisition is not being disclosed, but the investment caps a busy year for Highland Fuels.
Last September, its bosses snapped up a large stake in the business they did not already own after a £3.5million management buyout – securing 103 jobs – in May 2001.
Dutch fuel distributor SBI is no longer an investor, leaving Mr Shand, finance director Isobel Cruden and former managing director Colin McNab with a lion’s share of the firm.
Highland Fuels had a hectic start to 2010 as it delivered emergency supplies of heating oil to communities cut off by the big freeze.
Mr Shand said he was confident the company would beat last year’s profit performance during 2010 but he was unable to make any prediction for turnover, which is heavily dependent on the price of oil.
His comments came after accounts released by Companies House showed the firm made pre-tax profits of £2.42million in 2009 on turnover of £132.27million.
The figures compare with profits of £3.22million on turnover of £166.79million during 2008, when it disposed of a fuel-card business and a depot at Oban.
In its latest annual report, Highland Fuels said the 2009 figures were also negatively affected by a fall in oil prices and a downturn in economic conditions.
The business – founded in 1960 – employs nearly 140 people in the distribution of fuel oils and lubricants to domestic and commercial customers throughout Scotland. It operates a fleet of more than 50 tankers and 10 fuel depots, spreading from the north isles to Campbeltown.