Profitability for Spanish fuel retailers collapses

Average sales per gas station in Spain have shrunk by an alarming 31.4% between 2007 and 2014, mainly due to a growing number of new filling stations facing decreasing fuel demand.

The Spanish fuel retailing market has experienced a somewhat unusual trend in recent years. It is the only European country, other than Portugal, where the number of gas stations has grown each year since 2007, although fuel demand and profits have slumped, reports ABC newspaper.

A 26% drop in fuel demand between 2007 and 2014, according to professionals, combined with the increased number of gas stations, has hit retail sales very hard.The Spanish Association of Oil Product Operators (AOP in its Spanish acronyms) estimates average sales per filling station in those 7 years plummeted by 31.4%.

By the end of 2014, Spain had a retail network of 10,712 service stations, 95 more than in 2013 and almost 2,000 more than 2007 (8,900).

Of the 2014 total, an overwhelming 7,699 were owned by the major retailing companies: Repsol holds the largest network (3,585), followed by Cepsa (1,477) and BP (637). However, while the major companies reduced their networks in 2014, independent retailers and supermarkets increased their market share.