Casey’s General Stores Inc. (CASY, Financial) came out with its fourth quarter fiscal 2020 financial results on June 8 after the market closed.
By the numbers
The Ankeny, lowa-based company reported quarterly earnings per share of $1.67, which was lower than analyst forecasts of $1.83. The company’s quarterly revenue came in at $1.81 billion, which was down from the $2.18 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. Analysts had projected revenue of $1.76 billion.
The company’s operating expenses surged 6.2% during the quarter. This was driven by increased hourly wage rates, coupled with higher costs of cleaning and other pandemic-related supplies.
The company’s President and CEO Darren Rebelez had the following to say:
"We had significant momentum for the first half of the quarter inside the store, but slowing customer traffic related to COVID-19 contributed to overall volume declines. Stronger sales of lower-margin products relative to other categories led to a reduction in the average margin for the quarter."
The store count at the end of the quarter was a total of 2,146. The company has 24 new stores under construction and is under contract to buy two additional stores.
The company is authorised to buy back shares worth $300 million under the stock buyback program. However, the company did not buy back shares during the quarter.
Sector growth
In the categories of grocery and other merchandise, consolidated sales climbed 1% to $568.1 million in the fourth quarter. By contrast, the segment’s comps were down 2% from the year-ago quarter. The segment’s average margin was 30.4% in the reported quarter. As for fiscal 2020, sales jumped 5.5% to $2.2 billion while comps for the same period surged 1.9%.
In the prepared food and fountain category, total sales for the quarter came in at $229.9 million, down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Same-store sales plummeted 13.5% in the fourth quarter. The company had an average margin of 60%. As for the whole year, sales inched up 2.1% to $1.1 billion.
"Same-store sales in this category were also strong for the first half of the quarter. COVID-19 related traffic declines in the last half of the quarter combined with regulations prohibiting self-serve food service adversely affected quarterly results," Rebelez noted.
Outlook
The convenience store chain pulled its forecast for fiscal 2021, citing the global uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Disclosure: I do not hold any positions in the stocks mentioned.
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