One of the oldest businesses in Liverpool – Bibby Line Group – reports 17.5% surge in annual revenues to £241m and sees pre-tax profits more than double. Tony McDonough reports

Bibby Line Group (BLG) is hailing the “resilience and strength” of its business portfolio after seeing a big rise in both annual revenues and profits.

In the 12 months to December 31, 2023, Bibby Line saw revenues rise 17.5% to £241m after seeing a fall in turnover in the previous year. Pre-tax profits have more than doubled to £7.8m from £3.8m in 2022.

BLG is one of Liverpool’s oldest businesses. It was established as a shipping company in Liverpool in 1807. Based at Exchange Flags in the city centre it is now a diverse International business.

Still owned by the Bibby family, it employs around 1,300 in multiple countries across financial services, marine and infrastructure support.

Its latest improved financial figures were achieved primarily through positive results in its financial services subsidiary which achieved a 19% growth in turnover to £178.8m, resulting in improved profitability of £12.1m PBT (2022: £9.5m).

Garic – the group’s infrastructure business –– reported 9% revenue growth to £40.8m (2022: £37.4m). Pre-tax profit slightly declined from £4.3m in 2022 to £4.2m in 2023, as the business continued to invest in innovative sustainable assets.

Bibby Marine saw a 24% revenue increase, from £17m in 2022 to £21m in 2023 and reduced its loss before tax from £6.2m in 2022 to £4m. This was despite lower-than-expected utilisation and a £2m negative financial exchange impact versus the prior year.

In April this year Bibby Marine announced the construction of what it claims will be the world’s first zero-emissions windfarm support vessel. It has led a consortium developing its groundbreaking maintenance vessel for several years. 

BLG chief executive, Jonathan Lewis, said: “Against a backdrop of global uncertainty, I’m pleased to report that 2023 was another positive year for our group of businesses, resulting in an improved trading result.

“While we are proud of this strong performance, we are more excited and focused on the opportunities ahead.

“Our commitment to our company values drives us to continually push boundaries and strive for even greater success in the future, and we are confident that our businesses are well-positioned for success in their markets.

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“Bibby Financial Services is positioned to capture future growth in the SME finance market leveraging investment into making ourselves more customer-centric through a series of major platform upgrades and customer service improvements.

“Our marine business is now delivering a series of long-term charters, while also leading the ground-breaking drive to deliver the world’s first zero-emission Commissioning Service Operations Vessel.”