Berkshire Hathaway, owner of retail travel center company Pilot Co., reported a profitable second quarter, with Pilot Co. contributing.
Berkshire Hathaway’s net profits climbed to $36.2 billion from a loss in 2022 on $92.5 billion in second-quarter revenue, up 21% from $76.2 billion in the year-ago quarter, the Omaha, Nebraska-based company said.
For the five months ending June 30, Pilot achieved net profits of $197 million on $24.3 billion in revenue, Berkshire Hathaway said. Pilot, owner of Pilot, Flying J and One9 Fuel Network travel centers and fuel stations, generated about $14.75 billion in revenue in the second quarter, Berkshire Hathaway said.
The Jan. 31 acquisition of an additional 41.4% interest in Pilot Co. for $3.2 billion brought Berkshire Hathaway’s ownership stake in Pilot Co. to 80%. As of Feb. 1, the giant conglomerate consolidated the convenience and fueling retailer’s financial reports into its railroad, utilities and energy business, the company said.
The acquisition provided Berkshire Hathaway with a one-time noncash gain of $3 billion as the value of the 39% stake in Pilot Berkshire already owned was affected by its 41% purchase and remeasured.
In May, Pilot welcomed Adam Wright to the chief executive officer role, succeeding Shameek Konar, and named Joe Lillo as its new chief financial officer, succeeding Kevin Wills.
Knoxville, Tennessee-based Pilot Co. is No. 13 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience stores by number of company-owned retail outlets. It operates more than 650 travel centers in 43 states and Canadian provinces and more than 150 retail locations where it sells diesel through third-party arrangements, Berkshire Hathaway said. It also is entering the electric-vehicle charging market and has received federal funds to build EV charging stations in Ohio through DriveOhio.
While the valuations of certain assets from the acquisition are still being measured, Berkshire said the remaining 20% interest in Pilot represents a redeemable interest.
It acquired Pilot for $3.2 billion in equity as of a Dec. 31 valuation. Using an equity method of accounting, with an earnings figure calculated based on Berkshire’s ownership percentage of Pilot’s stock, Berkshire reported $100 million in earnings for the month ending Jan. 31.
In its second-quarter earnings report, Berkshire attributed $1.9 billion of its $4.3 billion in transportation and energy inventory to Pilot.
Berkshire Hathaway fully owns Temple, Texas-based McLane Co., a major distributor to convenience stores. McLane generated $12.88 billion in revenue in the second quarter, down from $13.26 billion in the year-ago quarter. For the first six months, McLane reported $25.94 million in operating revenue, up slightly from $25.78 billion in the first half of 2022.