Casey’s earnings rise on lower revenue

Casey's General Stores on Monday reported higher earnings per share for the fourth quarter and all of fiscal 2016 on lower revenue.

The Ankeny-based convenience store chain recorded net income of $47 million, or $1.19 per share, for the quarter that ended April 30, up from $41.3 million, or $1.05 per share, in the same quarter of fiscal 2015. Revenue dipped to $1.6 billion in the final quarter of fiscal 2016 from $1.7 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2015.

For the year, Casey's posted net income of $226 million, or $5.73 per share, up from $180.6 million, or $4.62 per share, in fiscal 2015. Revenue slipped to $7.1 billion in fiscal 2016 from $7.8 billion in the previous fiscal year.

'Total gross profit was up over 12 percent for the year and the company is positioned well for continued strong performance in fiscal 2017,” said Casey's President and CEO Terry Handley in a news release.

Casey's annual goal was to build or acquire 75 to 113 stores, replace 10 existing locations, and complete 100 major remodels. For the fiscal year, the company completed 51 new store constructions and acquired five stores.

Casey's also completed 11 replacement stores and 102 major remodels.

'We have dedicated more resources to our store development area over the past year,” Handley said. 'As a result, we currently have a robust pipeline of projects with 21 stores under construction and an additional 75 sites under contract for future new store construction, including numerous sites in Ohio.

'With our new distribution center in Terre Haute, (Ind.), we can efficiently build or acquire in a considerably larger geographical footprint.”

Casey's reported strong results for fuel sales, with same store sales up 3 percent for the year with an average margin of 19.6 cents per gallon. Same-store grocery sales were up 7.1 percent for the year with an average margin of 31.9 percent.