EL DORADO, Ark. — After reviewing the chain's positive third-quarter results, Murphy USA President and CEO Andrew Clyde is confident of the company’s resilience.
“Third-quarter results clearly demonstrate that the earnings power of our business has been, and we expect will continue to be, sustained throughout a variety of different macro and economic environments and business conditions,” Clyde said Oct. 27 on the convenience-store chain’s earnings call.
- Murphy USA is No. 5 on CSP’s 2022 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Looking back over the past three years, Murphy USA performed well during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, successfully navigated supply-chain challenges and widened its advantage in the most-recent period of higher costs and inflationary wage pressures, Clyde said.
“We have prospered during periods of sharp rising product prices that threaten broader consumer spending and, in the most recent quarter, delivered strong financial results as prices fell and interest rates rose,” he said.
Murphy USA reported net income of $219.5 million for the third quarter of 2022, more than double the $104 million in net income for the same quarter the previous year.
Total merchandise contribution was up nearly 10% for the prior-year quarter due primarily to higher unit sales volumes and retail prices, the company reported. Total tobacco contribution dollars increased 6.4% and nontobacco contribution dollars were up 13.4% compared to the prior year.
“Affordability matters, and we are clearly seeing the benefits of our everyday low-price strategy in our third-quarter results,” Clyde said.
Its QuickChek brand also continues to resonate with customers as it delivers high-quality food and convenience items at value prices, he said.
“We continue to invest in our customer value proposition at QuickChek and grow in the markets where it has already earned a loyal customer base and valuable brand recognition,” Clyde said. Murphy USA acquired QuickChek Corp. in 2021, adding 157 c-stores in the Northeast.
During the third quarter, the company opened one new QuickChek store, and there are five new stores under construction for that brand. Other growth in the third quarter includes seven new Murphy Express stores and 10 raze-and-rebuild Murphy USA stores.
Murphy USA is on track to complete more of these raze-and-rebuilds, which replace high-performing kiosk stores with larger 1,400-square-foot stores that feature a broader assortment of higher-margin merchandise and better grab-and-go food items for a better customer experience, Clyde said.
El Dorado, Ark.-based Murphy USA operates gas stations in 27 states primarily in the Southwest, Southeast, Midwest and Northeast. Most of Murphy USA's sites are located adjacent to Walmart stores. The company also markets gasoline and other products at standalone convenience stores under the Murphy Express and QuickChek brands.