LAVAL, Quebec -- Alimentation Couche-Tard said fiscal 2007 should be a banner year in terms of further expansion for the convenience store chain.
I think we're going to have a strong year on the acquisition side and, what I've seen visiting these targets in the last few months, these are great assets, CEO Alain Bouchard said in a conference call Wednesday, according to an Associated Press report. So, yes, we will have some acquisitions to [announce] soon.
As reported in CSP Daily News, Couche-Tard saw a 1.2% drop in its fourth-quarter [image-nocss] profit to $32.1 million (U.S.), even as revenues rose on gasoline sales. That amounted to a profit of 15 cents per share for the quarter ended April 30, compared to $32.5 million or 16 cents a share for the same period last year. Sales rose to $2.64 billion from $1.96 billion.
Laval, Quebec-based Couche-Tard, which reports in U.S. dollars, is the third-largest convenience store operator in North America, with a network of 4,983 stores in eight large geographic markets.
Without one-time items, net earnings would have been $36.7 million or 18 cents a share.
For the year, net earnings rose to $196.2 million or 94 cents a share, from $155.2 million or 75 cents a share in 2005, while revenue increased to $10.16 billion from $8 billion.
Bouchard is looking ahead to another productive year for a company that, excluding acquisitions, plans to invest a net amount of $300 million in property and equipment in 2007. During fiscal 07, we will further focus on innovation and the launch of new products and services and investing capital in our existing stores, he told analysts.
We are very confident and optimistic about our growth opportunities for fiscal 07. Everything is on track to achieve another strong performance, he said.
Couche-Tard, which has about 37,000 employees, said same-store motor fuel sales had a total positive impact of $11.6 million on operating income, after a higher electronic payment expense generated by the rise in retail fuel prices.
Our fiscal 2006 performance attests to the effectiveness of our targeted marketing strategies and business model in both the U.S. and Canada, Bouchard said. We accelerated the implementation of our IMPACT program, a true profit and growth driver for our stores, while taking advantage of outstanding opportunities to acquire small complementary networks in several strategic markets.
During the year, Couche-Tard acquired 73 company-operated stores and 27 affiliated stores. It opened 78 stores and implemented the IMPACT restructuring program in 446 stores in North America.
The year was truly excellent in regard to internal growth, Bouchard said. It was a year of remarkable market consolidation after our latest acquisitions. We are very pleased with both our sales growth and the improvement in our merchandise and service gross margins.
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