Inside Sales Boost Casey's Q2 Revenue
Second quarter revenue at Casey’s General Stores was up year-over-year as the convenience store chain reported strong gains in inside sales.
For the quarter ended October 31, total revenue was $4.1 billion, up from total revenue of $4.0 billion in the comparable quarter the previous year. Net income for the quarter was $158.8 million, up from net income of $137.6 million in the second quarter of the prior fiscal year. Diluted net income was $4.24, up over diluted net income of $3.67 in the comparable quarter the prior year.
Casey’s inside sales increased 6.2% to $1.35 billion. Inside same-store sales were up 2.9% with grocery and general merchandise same-store sales up 1.7% and prepared food and dispensed beverage same-store sales up 6.1%. Fuel sales were $2.6 billion.
Company officials said Inside sales were driven by strong performance in the prepared food and dispensed beverage category, including whole pizza pies, bakery, and dispensed beverages as well as non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages in the grocery and general merchandise category. Inside margin was up 130 basis points compared to the same quarter a year ago, primarily due to softening of prepared food and dispensed beverage ingredient costs as well as increased sales of private label products.
As a result of the strong financial performance and unit growth year-to-date, the company expects fiscal 2024 EBITDA growth to be in-line with the long-term strategic plan's goal of 8% to 10%. The company also expects to repurchase at least $100 million in shares throughout the fiscal year. Same-store inside sales are expected to increase 3.5% to 5%. Net interest expense is expected to be approximately $53 million.
As discussed in the first quarter, Casey’s now expects to add at least 150 stores in fiscal 2024, more than the originally planned 110. As a result of this, total operating expenses are now expected to increase approximately 6% to 8%, though same-store operating expenses excluding credit card fees are expected to only increase approximately 3% for the year.