GREENOCK bus firm McGill’s have posted bumper pre-tax profits – up by 12.5 per cent to almost £4 million.

The latest annual accounts from the Larkfield-based operator – owned by local businessmen James and Sandy Easdale – also revealed that turnover shot up by £3m to £38.3m in the year up to December 27, 2015.

Over the period, pre-tax profits rose by £400,000 to £3.6m.

The positive figures come despite a raft of difficulties and setbacks, according to company chiefs.

Managing director Ralph Roberts said: “The trading conditions of bus passenger transport is greatly affected by weather, which, over a large part of 2015, was poor.

“This, along with an increase in congestion led to a difficult to predict year.

“Record low fuel prices at the forecourts saw an increase in car usage and congestion, which, allied to the need to increase the number of vehicles to maintain timetables in congested towns, the lower fuel price benefit to the business was not realised.

“The new Queen Elizabeth University Hospital was opened in May 2015.

“This caused a significant increase in the cost of operations, to divert the many routes that previously by-passed the old hospital, into the new hospital.

“These factors combined to cause an underlying drag on performance.

“However, much work was done to contain the negative conditions and as a result of this management activity, the profit before tax projections were maintained.”

Mr Roberts said the company reinvested profits from 2014 – just over £3.2m before tax – back into the business in the form of new buses.

He says ‘a number’ of further acquisitions could also be on the way.

Mr Roberts said: “There was considerable investment in the period, principally by re-investing profits from 2014 into new buses.

“This pattern will be repeated where possible.

“A number of strategic acquisitions were worked upon, but these will fall into the next period.”

McGill’s – Scotland’s largest independent operator – employed 816 staff as of December last year, up from 681 in the previous 12 months.

Staff costs – including social security and pension contributions – rose by more than £3.5m to just under £20m.