STAFFORD HOLDINGS, the family-owned fuel, retail and shipping group, has posted a profit of €13.3 million for the nine months to the end of September 2007, according to newly-filed accounts.

The group, which owns retailer Lifestyle Sports, fuel merchants Campus Oil and Stafford Fuels, and Wexford-based Stafford Shipping, had a pretax profit of €16.7 million in the whole of 2006.

Turnover fell to €301.1 million in the nine months from €452 million in the previous full-year.

Mark Stafford, chief executive of the Stafford Group, explained the fall in turnover saying that it had changed its financial year-end last year to September 30th for budgetary reasons.

The group said in the accounts that it derived a significant proportion of revenues and profits in the last three months of every year due to Christmas retail trading and increased demand for home heating fuel during the winter.

Operating profit from continuing activities amounted to €3.7 million in the nine-month period, compared to €12.5 million in the previous full-year financial period.

The group converted Aztec Properties from a subsidiary of Stafford Holdings into a sister company in January 2007 and sold Stafford Shipping Foynes to Cork firm DF Doyle in March 2007.

The group reduced its net debt by €25 million to €6.4 million over the nine months and increased its return on capital to 15.8 per cent from 11.2 per cent in 2006.

Stafford Holdings paid cash dividends of €3.25 million and waived €30.7 million due from its parent company, Taghmon Investments.

Mr Stafford said he expected turnover to rise above €300 million in the 12 months to the end of this month, reflecting a full-year's trading and higher fuel prices.

He said sales at Lifestyle Sports had passed €200 million, and that while the economic situation had changed, Lifestyle Sports was still growing sales through a €10 million investment and 10 new stores opening.

The firm spent about €12.3 million buying 22 stores in the Czech retail chain City Sports, which has been rebranded as Lifestyle Sports. Mr Stafford said the group plans to invest €100 million expanding Lifestyle Sports into eastern Europe and €50 million growing the Irish chain.

The high price of oil had "not been a welcome development" as it had suppressed demand, though prices were now falling, he said.

The group has 12 fuel depots, all in Leinster, and 45 petrol stations.