However, the previous year’s performance, which saw petroleum sales peak at £535.1m, was fuelled by a steep rise in crude oil prices brought about by the war in Ukraine. In 2023, oil prices dropped 17.9%, marking a return to more normal trading conditions which were reflected in Rix Petroleum’s sales.
The performance lead in part to a reduction in Group revenue of 28%, down from £756.1m in 2022 to £590.8m last year.
Challenging trading conditions
Other factors that impacted on Group performance included challenging trading conditions for caravan and holiday home manufacturer, Victory Leisure Homes, brought about by high interest rates, high inflation, and the post-COVID return to unrestricted foreign travel.
This led to the manufacturer reporting a dip in sales from £102.9m in 2022 to £62.4m last year.
Exceptional costs during 2023, including consolidating manufacturing operations in its Hull factory and bankrolling start-up business, Victory Conversions, led to Victory Leisure Homes reporting a loss of £6.4m.
James Doyle, Managing Director of J.R. Rix & Sons Ltd, said market conditions in the leisure sector had swung from a period of unprecedented high demand in 2022, to unprecedented lows in 2023. Yet despite this result, he added that the Group as a whole, had made steady progress across the year as global turmoil had continued to subside.
He commented: “The global and geopolitical events of recent years have produced a number of abnormalities for the Rix Group.
“The COVID pandemic, for example, drove unprecedented demand in the UK holiday sector as people were unable to travel abroad. But with foreign travel opening up in 2023, demand has naturally reduced. This, coupled with high interest rates and inflation at home, has impacted on caravan and lodge sales.
“Similarly, the war in Ukraine led to highly volatile crude oil prices which inflated the turnover of our petroleum businesses. Over the course of 2023, the price rebalanced to below average, meaning the value of our petroleum sales returned to form.
“Given the impact of these external factors, the Group as a whole traded well, reporting healthy sales and satisfactory profits. This is due to our ethos of strong, judicious leadership and investing profits back into the business.”
Renewables on the rise
Elsewhere in the Group significant progress was made during 2023, including Rix Renewables which provides managed services for the offshore and onshore wind farm industry. The business doubled turnover, rising from £1.9m in 2022 to £3.8m last year.
The Group’s vehicle retail business, Jordans, saw a significant upturn in fleet and commercial vehicle sales resulting in an 82% increase in revenue in 2023, reaching £29.5m up from £15.3m.
Group profit before tax stood at a satisfactory £4.8m.
Image credit: J.R. Rix & Sons Ltd