EX-99.1 2 dex991.htm PRESS RELEASE Press Release

EXHIBIT 99.1

 

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   LOGO

Casey’s General Stores, Inc.

One Convenience Blvd.

Ankeny, IA 50021

  

Nasdaq Symbol CASY

CONTACT Bill Walljasper

(515) 965-6505

   

 

Casey’s Momentum Builds in Fourth Quarter

 

Ankeny, Iowa, June 13, 2005—Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq symbol CASY) today reported earnings for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year ended April 30, 2005. “We finished the year with a very solid quarter,” said Chairman and CEO Ronald M. Lamb. “Our retail sales grew 23.2% from the same quarter a year ago, gross profit was up 15.6%, and earnings from continuing operations rose to $0.15 per share.” Earnings from continuing operations for the fiscal year were $0.85 per share; net earnings after discontinued operations were $0.73 per share. The 36 stores identified as impaired assets in the third quarter were reclassified as discontinued operations that reported a loss of $0.12 per share. “In fiscal 2005,” Lamb stated, “we increased combined sales from our three business categories an impressive 21.1% and raised total gross profit 8.7%.”

 

Gasoline—The fiscal 2005 goal was to increase same-store gallons sold at least 2% with a margin of at least 10.5 cents. “We strengthened our sales trend, raising same-store gallons sold 2.8% in the third quarter and 5.6% in the fourth to put us close to goal at 1.9% for the year,” said Lamb. “For the first time in our history, total gallons sold exceeded 1 billion.” The average margin of 10.7 cents was above goal, and gross profit rose 10% to $108.3 million. “Our gross profit improvement demonstrates our effectiveness at managing gasoline in a difficult market,” Lamb added. “We’ll work to sustain our positive trends in fiscal 2006 by continuing to price competitively, refining efficiencies, and attracting more customer traffic.”

 

Grocery & Other Merchandise—The goal for this category was to increase same-store sales 2.9% with a margin of at least 32%. Same-store sales improved from a 2.1% increase in the first quarter to a 6.3% gain in the fourth and resulted in a 4.8% increase for the twelve months. Total sales rose 7.2% to $714 million with a margin of 30.9%, and gross profit was up 6.4% to $220.9 million. The margin was affected by a LIFO adjustment brought about by wholesale price increases primarily for cigarettes. Lamb said, “Cigarette unit sales were up for fiscal 2005, and we’ll work to gain more market share in fiscal 2006. We’ll continue to benefit from improved product mix and strategic price increases taken in the last half of fiscal 2005. We’ll also have the lottery rolled out in all our stores by the end of summer.” Management expects lottery tickets to become another destination item, increasing store traffic and boosting overall sales as they contribute directly to gross profit.

 

Prepared Food & Fountain—The fiscal 2005 goal was to increase same-store sales 6% with a margin over 60%. Annual same-store sales were up 8.4%—well over goal—and total sales rose 12.5% to $204.8 million. Despite the high cost of cheese during much of the year, the margin was 60.3%. Gross profit rose 11.8% to $123.6 million. “We are pleased with this category’s outstanding performance,” Lamb said. “Point of sale is giving us the information we need to help each store manager handle inventory and kitchen production effectively. We’re maintaining tight quality control on our menu items, introducing new products, pricing to specific markets, and controlling stales to maximize profit. Fiscal 2006 should be another good year for prepared food & fountain.”

 

Point of Sale (POS)—The goal was to have over 900 stores with full POS by the fiscal year-end. “Part of our success at increasing gross profit was due to our use of POS technology,” said Lamb. By April 30, Casey’s had 1,011 stores operating with POS and had installed 781 hand-held scanners to help store managers control direct-to-store deliveries. In fiscal 2006, management will use new data mining software to tailor marketing and inventory to individual stores.

 

Operating Expenses—Lamb stated, “Our annual goal was to hold the percentage increase in operating expenses to no more than the percentage increase in inside sales. Despite a substantial increase in bank charges from customers using credit cards to pay for increasingly expensive gasoline, we were able to achieve this goal.” Inside sales were up 8.4% to $918.8 million while operating expenses grew 7.6% to $329.3 million. “When I share our corporate goals for fiscal 2006,” Lamb added, “investors will notice we’ll be measuring operating expenses against gross profit to align more closely with our corporate focus on profitable growth.”

 

Expansion—Adding more stores primarily through acquisitions is an ongoing growth strategy at Casey’s. The fiscal 2005 goal was to acquire at least 43 stores and build 15 new stores. At year-end, the Company had built and opened 13 stores, had acquired 29 stores, and was in negotiation for the purchase of a regional chain. On May 19, 2005, Casey’s announced the signing of a letter of intent to acquire up to 58 stores—54 in Nebraska, 3 in Kansas, and 1 in Iowa—from Gas ‘N Shop, Inc. (GNS) of Lincoln, Nebraska.


Lamb stated, “We expect to close the transaction in the second quarter and to have the sites contribute to earnings in their first year as Casey’s General Stores. Our operating efficiencies and our proprietary prepared food program should enhance profitability.”

 

Part of the Company plan for accommodating anticipated acceleration in acquisition activity is expanding the distribution center by adding nearly 100,000 square feet of warehouse space and 20,000 square feet of office space. The expansion will provide capacity to serve at least 1,000 more stores. The Company broke ground in May and expects to complete construction in twelve months.

 

Fiscal 2006 Goals—Lamb concluded, “Coming off a solid fourth quarter situates us well for a strong fiscal 2006.” These are Casey’s corporate goals for the coming year:

 

    Increase same-store gasoline gallons sold 2% with an average margin of 10.5 cents per gallon.

 

    Increase same-store grocery & other merchandise sales 3% with an average margin of 31.5%.

 

    Increase same-store prepared food & fountain sales 5.5% with an average margin of 60.5%.

 

    Hold the percentage increase in operating expenses to less than the percentage increase in gross profit.

 

    Acquire 30 stores (in addition to the GNS acquisition) and build 10 new stores.

 

Dividend—At its June meeting, the Board of Directors increased the Company’s quarterly dividend to $0.045 per share. The dividend is payable on August 15, 2005 to shareholders of record on August 1, 2005.

 

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LOGO   

Casey’s General Stores, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Income

(Unaudited)

(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)

    

 

     Three months ended April 30,

   Year ended April 30,

     2005

   2004

   2005

   2004

Net sales

   $ 727,932    $ 593,014    $ 2,809,420    $ 2,328,940

Franchise revenue

     203      309      1,065      1,669
    

  

  

  

Total revenue

     728,135      593,323      2,810,485      2,330,609
    

  

  

  

Cost of goods sold

     616,397      496,563      2,352,580      1,908,807

Operating expenses

     83,558      79,475      329,296      306,052

Depreciation and amortization

     14,138      12,279      52,123      48,357

Interest, net

     2,556      3,108      10,739      12,398
    

  

  

  

       716,649      591,425      2,744,738      2,275,614
    

  

  

  

Earnings from continuing operations before income taxes

     11,486      1,898      65,747      54,995

Federal and state income taxes

     3,902      676      23,215      17,098
    

  

  

  

Net earnings from continuing operations

     7,584      1,222      42,532      37,897

Loss on discontinued operations, net of tax benefit

     241      384      5,779      1,431
    

  

  

  

Net earnings

   $ 7,343    $ 838    $ 36,753    $ 36,466
    

  

  

  

Basic

                           

Earnings from continuing operations

   $ .15    $ .02    $ .85    $ .76

Loss on discontinued operations

     .00      .01      .12      .03
    

  

  

  

Net earnings

   $ .15    $ .02    $ .73    $ .73
    

  

  

  

Diluted

                           

Earnings from continuing operations

   $ .15    $ .02    $ .85    $ .76

Loss on discontinued operations

     .00      .01      .11      .03
    

  

  

  

Net earnings

   $ .15    $ .02    $ .73    $ .73
    

  

  

  


Casey’s General Stores, Inc.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Dollars in thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

     April 30,
2005


  

April 30,

2004


Assets

             

Current assets

             

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 49,051    $ 45,887

Receivables

     7,481      5,751

Inventories

     75,392      77,895

Prepaid expenses

     4,579      6,392

Income taxes receivable

     5,927      10,882
    

  

Total current assets

     142,430      146,807
    

  

Other assets, net of amortization

     5,567      1,154

Property and equipment, at cost

             

Land

     196,840      180,040

Buildings and leasehold improvements

     429,056      409,320

Machinery and equipment

     537,026      498,152

Leasehold interest in property and equipment

     7,187      9,082
    

  

       1,170,109      1,096,594

Less accumulated depreciation and amortization

     447,197      409,969
    

  

Net property and equipment

     722,912      686,625
    

  

Total assets

   $ 870,909    $ 834,586
    

  

Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity

             

Current liabilities

             

Current maturities of long-term debt

   $ 27,636    $ 28,345

Accounts payable

     100,640      83,388

Accrued expenses

             

Property taxes

     10,483      8,591

Other

     31,368      25,516
    

  

Total current liabilities

     170,127      145,840
    

  

Long-term debt, net of current maturities

     123,064      144,158

Deferred income taxes

     102,039      99,159

Deferred compensation

     6,542      5,635
    

  

Total liabilities

     401,772      394,792

Shareholders’ equity

             

Preferred stock, no par value, none issued

     —        —  

Common stock, no par value, 50,189,812 and 50,015,862 shares issued and outstanding at
April 30, 2005 and 2004, respectively

     46,516      44,155

Retained earnings

     422,621      395,639
    

  

Total shareholders’ equity

     469,137      439,794
    

  

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

   $ 870,909    $ 834,586
    

  

 

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. 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.


Sales and Gross Profit by Product

(Amounts in thousands)

 

Year ended

4/30/05


   Gasoline

   

Grocery & Other

Merchandise


   

Prepared Food

& Fountain


    Other

    Total

 

Sales

   $ 1,870,791     $ 714,012     $ 204,795     $ 19,822     $ 2,809,420  

Gross profit

   $ 108,317     $ 220,922     $ 123,578     $ 4,023     $ 456,840  

Margin

     5.8 %     30.9 %     60.3 %     20.3 %     16.3 %

Gasoline gallons

     1,016,942                                  

Year ended

4/30/04


                              

Sales

   $ 1,455,973     $ 665,851     $ 181,997     $ 25,119     $ 2,328,940  

Gross profit

   $ 98,464     $ 207,684     $ 110,515     $ 3,470     $ 420,133  

Margin

     6.8 %     31.2 %     60.7 %     13.8 %     18.0 %

Gasoline gallons

     974,535                                  

 

Gasoline Gallons  
Same-store Sales Growth  
     Q1

    Q2

    Q3

    Q4

    Fiscal
Year


 

F2005

   -1.3 %   1.0 %   2.8 %   5.6 %   1.9 %

F2004

   6.4     3.4     0.7     1.7     3.1  

F2003

   -5.5     -5.1     -4.4     4.1     -3.0  
Gasoline Margin  
(Cents per gallon)  
     Q1

    Q2

    Q3

    Q4

    Fiscal
Year


 

F2005

   11.9 ¢   9.7 ¢   10.2 ¢   10.7 ¢   10.7 ¢

F2004

   9.8     11.9     9.1     9.5     10.1  

F2003

   9.9     11.7     11.9     10.5     11.0  
Grocery & Other Merchandise  
Same-store Sales Growth  
     Q1

    Q2

    Q3

    Q4

    Fiscal
Year


 

F2005

   2.1 %   4.8 %   6.8 %   6.3 %   4.8 %

F2004

   0.6     -0.5     -1.2     2.8     0.4  

F2003

   4.2     0.8     -3.1     -1.9     0.2  
Grocery & Other Merchandise  
Margin  
     Q1

    Q2

    Q3

    Q4

    Fiscal
Year


 

F2005

   31.4 %   31.0 %   31.7 %   30.0 %   30.9 %

F2004

   31.7     32.5     31.1     29.3     31.2  

F2003

   31.3     33.1     30.8     31.5     31.7  
Prepared Food & Fountain  
Same-store Sales Growth  
     Q1

    Q2

    Q3

    Q4

    Fi.scal
Year


 

F2005

   6.1 %   9.0 %   9.0 %   9.8 %   8.4 %

F2004

   5.8     4.1     4.5     7.6     5.5  

F2003

   2.8     2.0     -2.9     2.4     1.1  
Prepared Food & Fountain  
Margin  
     Q1

    Q2

    Q3

    Q4

    Fiscal
Year


 

F2005

   58.8 %   60.5 %   61.4 %   61.0 %   60.3 %

F2004

   60.9     62.9     60.4     58.6     60.7  

F2003

   59.2     60.2     60.4     58.2     59.5  

 

LOGO

 

Corporate information is available at this Web site: http://www.caseys.com. Earnings will be reported during a conference call on June 14, 2005. The call will be broadcast live over the Internet at 9:30 a.m. CST via the Investor Relations section of our Web site and will be available in an archived format.