"Speedier shoppers" have helped forecourt operator Snax 24 boost its full-year pre-tax profit by nearly 40% and sales by nearly 20%.

Snax 24 group MD Bill Ahearn said sales rose 19% to £228.8m and pre-tax profit by 39% to £3.5m in the year to 30 September after the company decided to scale down its grocery offer and focus on fuel sales.

"There has been a general focus on speeding people through our forecourts," he said. "We have become more petrol-driven so we can differentiate ourselves from the multiples who seem to be more interested in selling groceries on their forecourts."

To encourage shoppers to move through the forecourt quicker, Snax 24 had reduced its product lines by a third and focused on selling impulse, Ahearn said.

The number of magazines on offer, for example, had been reduced from 150 to around 80 so that people spent less time browsing and finished their transactions quicker. Customer feedback had been good, while fuel volumes had increased against falls in sites owned by supermarkets.

"We may have a smaller offer but we have greater access," Ahearn added. "There can be huge delays in multiples' forecourts."

Acquisitions had also boosted full-year sales and the chain now had more than 100 sites. It has also ventured into the US in partnership with a c-store chain at two forecourts, in Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

Snax 24 would continue to look at new sites in the UK, Ahearn added, though 2009 would be a challenge. "In early December volumes fell off a cliff," he said. "The sector is down 6% by volume. It's going to stay tough for some time."