Murphy USA’s net income and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) for first-quarter 2024 were lower versus the prior-year quarter, the convenience-store chain announced in its preliminary first-quarter results Wednesday.
This was primarily due to lower total fuel contribution, higher store operating expenses and higher general administrative expenses, which were partially offset by higher overall merchandise contribution, the El Dorado, Arkansas-based company said.
Murphy’s net income was $66 million for first-quarter 2024, down from $106.3 million in the same quarter last year.
Total fuel contribution for the first quarter was 24.8 cents per gallon, compared to 28.9 CPG in first-quarter 2023. Merchandise contribution dollars for first-quarter 2024 increased 2.4% to $191.6 million on average unit margins of 19.2%.
- Murphy USA is No. 4 on CSP’s 2024 Top 40 Update to the 2023 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. Watch for the full 2024 Top 202 ranking in the June issue of CSP magazine and in CSP Daily News.
“First-quarter results showed the resilience of Murphy USA’s core fuel and tobacco categories, as these remain non-discretionary purchases to a growing base of customers who continued to trade down for value and stocked up around severe weather events throughout the quarter,” Murphy USA President and CEO Andrew Clyde said. “Strong year-over-year and two-year fuel volume performance at comparable first-quarter retail margins further demonstrate structural industry dynamics remain intact and favor Murphy USA in the most recent rising price and lower volatility environment. Our major innovation, growth and productivity initiatives remain on track, with results largely weighted to the second half of the year. As such, we continue to be well positioned to execute against our long-term value creation strategy.”
In the first quarter of the year, Murphy USA opened two new Murphy USA or Murphy Express locations and one new QuickChek. It had a total of 1,733 stores as of March 31.
Murphy USA completed its acquisition of QuickChek in January 2021. Murphy USA operates one of the nation’s largest convenience-store chains, operating in 27 states, located primarily in the Southwest, Southeast, Midwest and Northeast, the majority of which are next to Walmart Supercenters.
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