ME Group International, the company that supplies and operates Wash.ME laundrette machines for forecourts and other businesses, has announced a pre-tax profit increase of 14% for the first half of the financial year, or 17% when adjusted for inflation.
The company, which also operates photobooths, previously told Forecourt Trader it is targeting a 28% growth in machine installations by the end of November.
The firm’s overall revenue grew 2% year-on-year in H1 (4% at constant currency), with this said to be driven by the rise of its laundrette arm, which grew by 550 new machines across France and the UK in the first half of the financial year, bringing a 13.3% rise in revenue.
Previously known as Revolution Laundry, Wash.ME installed its 1,000th machine in the UK last September, with filling stations a key location type for the firm due to high footfall rates and the tendency for forecourts to have available space for the machines and their patrons’ vehicles.
Laundrette facilities are seen, along with valeting services and parcel lockers, as a key area of diversification for sites’ exterior spaces.
ME Group has a net-cash position of £36.2m and expects profits before tax for the financial year to be between £76 and £80m, despite revenue from its photobooth operations dropping 3.3% in H1 due to a technical issue with printers, which it said it has received compensation for from a supplier.
