CARY, N.C. -- For The Pantry, 2006 was a year of records. Revenue for the Sanford, N.C.-based company was up $6 billion, or 35% from the previous year. And net income was up 54% from 2005, at $89.2 million. The Pantry expanded by buying 113 stores from smaller chains. It now runs nearly 1,500 stores in 11 states. The company will soon close a $275 million deal to buy 66 stores from Charlotte, N.C.-based Petro Express as well as its fuel affiliate.
"At year-end, we are clearly in the best position in the company's history," said president and CEO Peter [image-nocss] Sodini at the company's annual meeting last week in Cary, N.C.
Sodini discussed the gasoline industry and the future of the company with the Charlotte Observer:
Q. Can you explain why gas prices are rising again?
If this little mess over in Iran gets settled quickly, we might see some stabilization. But as long as the political picture is unstable, it puts a fear and speculative element into the market.... Then there was a fire at a BP refinery near Chicago.
Q. So, do you think gas prices will go down any time soon?
The BP refinery is very untimely going down. We may get some softening, but somewhere you've got to make up the supply that refinery would have produced. They say June 15 it may be back up and operating.... But it doesn't seem to reflect on the consumption. Demand seems to be very strong.
Q. Should we read anything into the fact that you moved the annual meeting to Cary this year?
Nothing more profound than we couldn't get into our regular hotel.
Q. But what's the latest with your plans to move The Pantry's corporate offices to Cary? The latest was possibly 2008, with a large operation remaining in Sanford.
You're realistically looking at early 2009 now. We've adapted the offices (in Sanford) we bought. It will be Cary-Apex or somewhere in there. Looking at a scatter-gram of where people live, that's a reasonable amount to ask them to drive.
Q. But you haven't picked a location yet?
No, not yet.
[See related story in this issue of CSP Daily News.]
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