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8-K - 8-K - CASEYS GENERAL STORES INCa8-kq17x18pressrelease.htm


Exhibit 99.1
caseyscolorlogoa10.jpg
 
 
 
NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
  
 
Casey’s General Stores, Inc.
One SE Convenience Blvd.
Ankeny, IA 50021
  
Nasdaq Symbol CASY
CONTACT Bill Walljasper
(515) 965-6505

Casey's Reports First Quarter Results; Value Creation Plan On Track
Ankeny, IA, September 10, 2018 - Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (“Casey’s” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq symbol CASY) today reported diluted earnings per share of $1.90 for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 ended July 31, 2018, compared to $1.46 per share for the same quarter a year ago. "The combination of recent investments made in expanding our store count, a more proactive strategic pricing approach in all areas of the business, continued focus on reducing labor hours inside the stores, the favorable impacts of tax reform, and share repurchases contributed to strong diluted earnings per share growth," said Terry Handley, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to invest in the Value Creation Plan that we believe will drive long-term shareholder value, and we remain on track to begin realizing benefits in the second half of fiscal 2019."
Value Creation Plan Update - The Company has completed or made progress on the following value creation plan activities:
Finalizing marketing plan with our fleet card vendor to launch in fiscal 2nd quarter
Continued focus on product optimization in fuel program
Conducting a search for a Vice President of Digital and a Fuel Procurement Manager
Finalized contracts with separate vendors for fuel and inside price optimization
On schedule to begin pilot program in fuel price optimization in fiscal 2nd quarter
Finalized several contracts as part of our E-commerce and customer facing platforms

Fuel - For the quarter, same-store gallons sold were up 0.5% with an average margin of 20.5 cents per gallon. "As we build our fuel team, we have been more proactively managing retail fuel pricing," said Handley. "We believe this drove a more timely response to changes in market conditions, which helped realize a stronger quarterly fuel margin. This approach, combined with rising retail fuel prices, led to an overall softer demand for fuel. While same-store gallon movement was under our annual guidance range, we continued to outpace our peers in same-store gallons, and overall we are very pleased with the gross profit dollar growth." Total gallons sold for the quarter were up 6.5% to 601.8 million gallons while gross profit dollars increased 13.1% to $123.5 million.
Grocery and Other Merchandise - For the quarter, same-store sales were up 3.2% with an average margin of 32.4%. "We are pleased about the overall direction of our grocery and other merchandise category," said Handley. "Our focus continues to be on managing the promotional environment to drive profitable growth. Some of our faster growing and higher margin product lines, such as packaged beverages, produced strong quarterly results, particularly in May." For the first quarter, total grocery and other merchandise revenue increased 7.9% to $644.8 million, and gross profit dollars were up nearly 10% to $208.9 million.
Prepared Food and Fountain - Same-store sales for the quarter were up 1.7% with an average margin of 62.0%. "Our prepared food category showed significant improvement from fourth quarter and moderate growth overall, including particularly strong results in the breakfast daypart." said Handley. "These results helped offset some softness in our bakery category. Overall, our increased investment in pizza promotions did not significantly affect our margin. Combining those promotions with other pricing strategies produced a margin at the top end of our guidance for the quarter." Total prepared food and fountain revenue increased 7.3% to $281.0 million in the first quarter while gross profit dollars grew 6.4% to $174.2 million.
Operating Expenses - For the first quarter, total operating expenses increased 11.9% to $359.4 million. Same-store operating expenses excluding credit card fees were up 1.6% for the quarter. The increase in total operating expenses was primarily attributable to operating 105 more stores than the same quarter in the prior year. The Company incurred increases of approximately $8 million in credit card fees and fleet fuel expense, and $3.6 million in health care costs. "The focus on reducing hours worked in our stores and changes to 24-hour and pizza delivery locations allowed us to manage store level





operating expenses effectively," added Handley. "However, we were challenged by higher fuel prices, which caused a significant increase in credit card fees and fleet fuel expenses compared to the same quarter last year."
Expansion - The following table represents the roll forward of store growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2019:
 
Store Count
Stores at 4/30/18
2,073
New Store Construction
15
Acquisitions
1
Acquisitions not opened
(1)
Prior Acquisitions opened
1
Closed
(4)
Stores at 7/31/18
2,085
The Company had 14 acquisition stores under agreement to purchase and a land bank of 103 sites as of July 31, 2018. "The increased focus in store development over the last couple of years has allowed us to build a bank of land sites for future growth," said Handley. "It will allow us to have a more controlled and uniform rollout of our new stores each quarter. We also continue to be encouraged by the number of conversations we are having with potential sellers."
Share Repurchase Program - During the first quarter of fiscal 2019, the Company finished its repurchase on the initial $300 million repurchase program authorized in March 2017, repurchasing 352,592 shares for approximately $35.2 million, or an average price of $99.97 per share. The Company also has a second $300 million authorization that was approved by the Board in March 2018. There were no repurchases made against that authorization in the first quarter. "We felt it was appropriate to reallocate capital in the near term to support and expedite our value creation plan as we get closer to launching those programs," said Handley.
Dividend - At its September meeting, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share. The dividend is payable November 15, 2018 to shareholders of record on November 1, 2018.
Fiscal 2019 Guidance -Below is a summary of the current fiscal 2019 guidance:
 
Same-store Sales
 
Average Margin
Fuel (Gallons and CPG)
1.5 - 3.0%
 
18.5 - 20.5
Grocery and Other Merchandise
1.5 - 3.0%
 
31.5 - 32.5%
Prepared Food and Fountain
1.5 - 3.5%
 
60.0 - 62.0%
 
 
 
 
Operating Expenses
8.5- 10.5%
 
 
Depreciation and Amortization
14.0 - 16.0%
 
 
New Store Construction
60 stores
 
 
Acquisitions
20+ stores
 
 
****





Casey’s General Stores, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated
Statements of Income
(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts) (Unaudited)
 
Three Months Ended
July 31,
 
 
2018
 
2017
 
Total revenue
$
2,588,432

 
$
2,093,739

 
Cost of goods sold (exclusive of depreciation and amortization, shown separately below)
2,066,664

 
1,617,042

 
Operating expenses
359,392

 
321,247

 
Depreciation and amortization
58,840

 
52,369

 
Interest, net
14,406

 
11,375

 
Income before income taxes
89,130

 
91,706

 
Federal and state income taxes
18,906

 
34,948

 
Net income
$
70,224

 
$
56,758

 
Net income per common share
 
 
 
 
Basic
$
1.92

 
$
1.48

 
Diluted
$
1.90

 
$
1.46

 
Basic weighted average shares
36,669,021

 
38,360,104

 
Plus effect of stock compensation
311,387

 
480,184

 
Diluted weighted average shares
36,980,408

 
38,840,288

 





Casey’s General Stores, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
 
 
July 31, 2018
 
April 30, 2018
Assets
 
 
 
Current assets
 
 
 
Cash and cash equivalents
$
44,842

 
$
53,679

Receivables
46,486

 
45,045

Inventories
263,879

 
241,668

Prepaid expenses
8,940

 
5,766

Income tax receivable
42,404

 
50,682

Total current assets
406,551

 
396,840

Other assets, net of amortization
32,769

 
29,909

Goodwill
140,623

 
140,258

Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $1,662,860 at July 31, 2018 and $1,611,177 at April 30, 2018
2,944,564

 
2,902,920

Total assets
$
3,524,507

 
$
3,469,927

Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
 
 
 
Current liabilities
 
 
 
Notes payable to bank
$
27,411

 
$
39,600

Current maturities of long-term debt
15,379

 
15,374

Accounts payable
333,299

 
321,419

Accrued expenses
149,424

 
131,457

Total current liabilities
525,513

 
507,850

Long-term debt, net of current maturities
1,291,638

 
1,291,725

Deferred income taxes
349,656

 
341,946

Deferred compensation
16,095

 
15,928

Other long-term liabilities
42,906

 
41,337

Total liabilities
2,225,808

 
2,198,786

Total shareholders’ equity
1,298,699

 
1,271,141

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
$
3,524,507

 
$
3,469,927

Certain statements in this news release, including any discussion of management expectations for future periods, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by those statements, including our ability to execute our value creation plan or to realize benefits therefrom. Casey’s disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.







Summary by Category (Amounts in thousands)
Three months ended 7/31/2018
Fuel
 
Grocery & Other
Merchandise
 
Prepared Food
& Fountain
 
Other
 
Total
Revenue
$
1,647,417

 
$
644,800

 
$
281,003

 
$
15,212

 
$
2,588,432

Revenue less cost of goods sold (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)
$
123,476

 
$
208,925

 
$
174,184

 
$
15,183

 
$
521,768

 
7.5
%
 
32.4
%
 
62.0
%
 
99.8
%
 
20.2
%
Fuel gallons
601,795

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Three months ended 7/31/2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Revenue
$
1,220,985

 
$
597,413

 
$
261,840

 
$
13,501

 
$
2,093,739

Revenue less cost of goods sold (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)
$
109,212

 
$
190,364

 
$
163,645

 
$
13,476

 
$
476,697

 
8.9
%
 
31.9
%
 
62.5
%
 
99.8
%
 
22.8
%
Fuel gallons
565,047

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fuel Gallons
 
Fuel Margin
Same-store Sales
(Cents per gallon, excluding credit card fees)
 
Q1
 
Q2
 
Q3
 
Q4
 
Fiscal
Year
 
Q1
 
Q2
 
Q3
 
Q4
 
Fiscal
Year
F2019
0.5
%
 


 


 

 


F2019

20.5
¢
 


 


 


 

F2018
1.7

 
1.9
%
 
3.8
%
 
2.0
 %
 
2.3
%
F2018
19.3

 

19.7
¢
 

18.6
¢
 

16.3
¢
 

18.5
¢
F2017
3.1

 
3.7

 
2.6

 
(0.5
)
 
2.1

F2017
19.5

 
18.6

 
17.9

 
17.2

 
18.4

Grocery & Other Merchandise
 
Grocery & Other Merchandise
Same-store Sales
Margin
 
Q1
 
Q2
 
Q3
 
Q4
 
Fiscal
Year
 
Q1
 
Q2
 
Q3
 
Q4
 
Fiscal
Year
F2019
3.2
%
 


 


 


 


F2019
32.4
%
 


 


 


 


F2018
3.1

 
2.5
%
 
2.5
%
 
(0.4
)%
 
1.9
%
F2018
31.9

 
32.0
%
 
31.9
%
 
31.2
%
 
31.8
%
F2017
4.7

 
3.1

 
3.0

 
1.5

 
2.9

F2017
31.6

 
32.0

 
31.1

 
31.1

 
31.5

Prepared Food & Fountain
 
Prepared Food & Fountain
Same-store Sales
Margin
 
Q1
 
Q2
 
Q3
 
Q4
 
Fiscal
Year
 
Q1
 
Q2
 
Q3
 
Q4
 
Fiscal
Year
F2019
1.7
%
 


 


 


 


F2019
62.0
%
 


 


 


 


F2018
3.7

 
2.1
%
 
1.7
%
 
(1.3
)%
 
1.7
%
F2018
62.5

 
61.3
%
 
60.5
%
 
59.7
%
 
61.0
%
F2017
5.1

 
5.1

 
5.8

 
3.2

 
4.8

F2017
62.8

 
62.9

 
61.7

 
61.7

 
62.3


Corporate information is available at this Web site: http://www.caseys.com. Earnings will be reported during a conference call on September 11, 2018. The call will be broadcast live over the Internet at 9:30 a.m. CST. To access the call, go to the Press Releases and Webcasts section of our Web site at https://www.caseys.com/investor-relations/press-releases-and-webcasts. No access code is required. A webcast replay of the call will remain available in an archived format, on the Press Releases and Webcasts section of our Web site at https://www.caseys.com/investor-relations/press-releases-and-webcasts until September 11, 2022.