by John Keller | Mar 9, 2011 | Fuel Price Optimization, Retail Fuel Margins
Casey’s General Stores reported Q3 retail fuel margins were at $.139/gallon. This exceeded the management annual goal of $.135/gallon by four-tenths of a cent. Same store gallons sold were up 3.5% for the quarter.
For the first nine months of the fiscal year, management reported retail fuel margins of $.151/gallon, and total gallons sold were 1.1 billion. Management reports the total number of sites is now at 1618, an increase of 88 sites from the beginning of the fiscal year.
by John Keller | Mar 2, 2011 | Retail Fuel Margins
Susser Holdings Corporation reported their retail fuel margin results for Q4 2010 and for the entire 2010 fiscal year.
Retail fuel margins for the fourth quarter were 15.0 cents per gallon, versus 22.8 cents in the third quarter and 11.9 cents in the fourth quarter of 2009. The report states that their retail fuel margins helped contribute to their 9.4 percent increase in companywide gross profit compared to last year’s fourth quarter. The Q4 gross profit for 2010 hit $112 million. Retail fuel volumes increased 4.8 percent from a year ago to 182.4 million gallons for the fourth quarter. That equates to 141,067 gallons per store per month on average. According to NACS, the average c-store sells 121,000 gallons of fuel per month annually. That means Susser stores sold about 16% more than the national monthly average.
Retail fuel margins for the entire 2010 fiscal year hit $.184 per gallon.
Sam Susser, President and CEO said “As the recovery gains momentum in 2011, we expect to see additional growth in both merchandise and fuel volumes, although we do not expect to match the unusually strong fuel margins of 2010.”
The Company added seven large format retail stores during the fourth quarter, converted three retail stores to dealer operations and closed three smaller underperforming stores, bringing the total number of retail stores in operation at year-end to 526.
For the 2011 fiscal year guidance figure, the report shows a range of $.14 – $.17 per gallon.
by John Keller | Feb 28, 2011 | Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
Retail fuel prices rose by $.20/gallon since last week, according to today’s US Energy Information Administration report. The US national average retail fuel price of unleaded gasoline spiked to $3.38/gallon, a gallon of midgrade rose to $3.49, and a gallon of premium rose to $3.62.
Fuel prices have risen 10 of the past 11 weeks, but the increase this week is four times any increases seen the previous 11 weeks. The fuel price increase this week is the largest since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, when the refinery output in the Gulf was disrupted.
The largest fuel price increases were in the Midwest, where the average gallon of unleaded gas rose 22 cents to $3.36/gallon. The smallest fuel price increases were in the Rocky Mountain region, where unleaded rose $.11 to $3.23/gallon. As for individual states, Ohio had the largest fuel price increase of the week, where prices rose $.30/gallon for unleaded, with an average price of $3.37/gallon.
In Los Angeles and San Francisco, a gallon of Unleaded is priced at $3.73 and $3.75 per gallon. In San Francisco, Premium is just short of $4.00 at $3.96/gallon.
by John Keller | Feb 21, 2011 | Retail Fuel Margins
TravelCenters of America announced in their annual report for 2010 that their retail fuel margins were 5.4%. Based on the 2011 NACS Annual Fuels Report, that equates to approximately $.16 per gallon. Retail fuel margins in 2009 were 6.4%. The last three months of 2010 had retail fuel margins at 4.7%, or approximately $.14 per gallon, essentially unchanged from the same period in 2009. According to NACS, the average c-store sold fuel at a 5.6% margin. That means TA sold in line with the national annual average for 2010.
Same site fuel volumes for the year were up 6% from 2009. The report attributes this volume increase to the effectiveness of the company’s marketing and customer service efforts, as well as increased economic activity. Fuel volumes for the final three months of 2010 were up 2.3% from the same period in 2009.
At the end of 2009, TravelCenters of America had 228 sites, five fewer than at the end of 2009. Of the 228 sites, 62 operate under the “Petro” brand.
Net losses for the year were $65m compared to a net loss of $89m in 2009. For the fourth quarter, net losses were $30m compared to $44.6m for the previous year.
by John Keller | Feb 3, 2011 | Retail Fuel Margins
Tesoro Corporation announced in their financial results for 2010 that US retail fuel margins for the year were $.21 per gallon, matching the retail fuel margins of 2009. This annual retail fuel margin is five cents higher than the national 2010 average of $.163 per gallon, as reported by NACS in their 2011 Annual Fuels Report. Retail fuel margins for Q4 were at $.17 per gallon, lower by $.09 per gallon than last year’s Q4.
Across their 880 total stations in the US, Tesoro sold 126,228 gallons per store per month, more than 2009 by just over 1000 gallons per month. This is 5,000 gallons per store per month more than the national average of 121,000 gallons sold by c-stores across the US.
Tesoro has 6 fewer stations at the end of 2010 compared to 2009. Tesoro now has 381 company-operated stores under the Tesoro, Shell, Mirastar, and USA Gasoline brands. Tesoro has an additional 499 branded jobber/dealer stores. The Tesoro locations are in the Western US, as far east as Minnesota, south to New Mexico, and West to the Pacific Coast states, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. Tesoro operates seven refineries in the Western US.
by John Keller | Feb 1, 2011 | Retail Fuel Margins
Murphy Oil Corporation announced in their financial results for 2010 that retail fuel margins for the year were $.114 per gallon, higher than 2009 by $.031. Retail fuel margins for Q4 were at $.074 per gallon, higher by $.006 per gallon than last year’s Q4.
Across their 1099 stores, Murphy sold 306,646 per store month, less than 2009 by just under 6,000 gallons. According to NACS, the average c-store sells 121,000 gallons of fuel per month. That means each Murphy store sells more than 2.5 times the retail fuel national average.
David M. Wood, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Our U.S. retail station network showed good performance during the year and will further expand its asset base in 2011.”
