Fife coach hire and bus firm Moffat & Williamson hailed increased demand for continental tours from holiday hungry travellers, as it booked top- and bottom-line boosts despite a string of cost pressures.
The Gauldry-based company well-known for the yellow and orange livery of its fleet of more than 30 vehicles saw revenues climb almost 3% to £4.1 million during the year to the end of November, with pre-tax profits rising 5.6% to £483,658.
The firm said it had high hopes for the future, with an eye on opportunities likely to be created by next summer’s Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games.
The “good” performance came during a year which saw a change of ownership for the 68-year-old concern. Experienced operations manager George Devine led a management buyout in May last year, following the retiral of long-term director John Williamson.
While the deal, the value of which remains undisclosed, took Moffat & Williamson out of family ownership, Mr Williamson’s son Iain remains with the company as its transport manager.
Mr Devine started his career with the company as a garage labourer in 1978 before working with Northern Scottish, Strathtay and finally Stagecoach.
He said the strength of the firm’s tour business showed customers remained keen to spend on quality service when taking holidays.
The company also runs a string of school bus and scheduled services in Fife, employing around 90 people in administrative, garage and driving roles.
“It’s all due to hard work, the staff and the quality of the product,” Mr Devine said of his firm’s results.
“We do turn out an excellent product, and a lot of our business is repeat business.
“Unfortunately we lost some school contracts in August, but continental trips and private hires are up.
“People are still looking to enjoy their leisure time, and we’re now looking at different markets.”
He said the company would continue to invest in new vehicles as part of a rolling programme of fleet improvement, while making every effort to continue its progress in a tough market.
“We’re three-quarters of our way through this year and we’re matching last year,” said Mr Devine. “If you can hold your own in the present climate then you are doing well.”
While margins remained strong in the period, Mr Devine warned that fuel, insurance and maintenance costs all continued to rise.
“You can’t predict the price of fuel, and the problem we’ve got is that a lot of our hires are placed well in advance,” he said.
“We’ve just got to get on with our business and try to monitor it and gauge what it will be.
“It has been quite stable for the last three or four months, which is helpful, but it is a massive cost for us.
“Our insurance costs have also gone up quite considerably, and the parts we need for maintenance can rise by about 4% every few months or so.”
Moffat & Williamson was created in 1978 following the merger of James Moffat & Sons of Cardenden and Williamsons of Gauldry.
The two companies, formed in 1945, joined forces to operate from bases at St Fort and Glenrothes.
Mr Devine, 59, returned to the company as operations manager in 2010, but insists that “nothing has changed”.
“We want to run things in exactly the same way,” he said.
“We’ve retained the vast majority of staff and just do what we do with good service,” he said.