ANKENY, Iowa — Casey's General Stores Inc. posted record second-quarter earnings for its fiscal 2021 this week, primarily on the back of healthy sales growth in grocery and other merchandise and sizeable gasoline margins.
“Casey’s had a remarkable second quarter and is well on our way to executing our long-term strategic plan,” said President and CEO Darren Rebelez. “The company delivered well-balanced financial results, with contributions from both ongoing strong fuel profitability and inside sales volume and profit improvements.”
The chain saw total net income reach $232 million for the six-month period ending Oct. 31, compared to $167 million the previous year.
Net income and other financial factors "were significantly greater than prior year due to higher fuel margin and inside gross profit, as well as operating 38 more stores than this time last year," the company said.
Fuel gross profit increased 45% during the quarter with a fuel margin of 35.3 cents per gallon. Same-store gallons sold decreased 8.6% compared to prior year but improved sequentially from first quarter, the company said.
Inside same-store sales increased 3.5% with a margin of 41.0%, and inside gross profit increased 2.8%. Grocery and other merchandise sales rose 5% over the previous, even as prepared food and fountain-drink sales declines 6.6%.
"Inside same-store sales were driven by strong performance in alcohol, packaged beverage and tobacco, along with continued strength in whole pizza pie sales," the company said. "This was offset by pressure in the dispensed beverage and bakery categories, though these categories experienced improvements in volume compared to first quarter. Inside sales margin was adversely impacted by the product mix shift ... but improved sequentially vs. first quarter."
The company also reported the acquisition of 94 Bucky's-branded c-stores in Illinois and Nebraska from Omaha, Neb.-based Buchanan Oil during the quarter.
"The acquisition is a strong strategic fit and is expected to be accretive to earnings in fiscal 2022," the company said. "In addition, the company expects to complete the construction of approximately 40 new stores this fiscal year."
Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey's General Stores owns and operates more than 2,200 convenience stores in 16 states. It ranks No. 4 on CSP'sTop 202 list of the largest c-store chains in the United States by store count.
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