Casey's Records Growth on All Levels in Q2 FY24

ANKENY, Iowa — Casey's General Stores Inc. marked the halfway point of its fiscal year 2024 with notable network expansion and notable financial results, both inside the store and on the forecourt. 

"We continue to expand our store count with complimentary geographic growth. Recent acquisitions have strengthened our eastern footprint in Kentucky and Tennessee while we've also ventured into Texas, which we think is a hand in-glove fit in our Southwest footprint," Chairman, President and CEO Darren Rebelez said during the company's second quarter fiscal year 2024 earnings call on Dec. 12. 

"All of the stores are within our existing distribution radius and fit the Casey's playbook of rural and suburban geographies," he added. 

As it kicked off its fiscal year six months ago, Casey's planned to add at least 110 convenience stores to its network by the end of FY24. It has now upped that expectation to at least 150 c-stores. 

[Read more: Casey's Lays Out Strategic Plan for Next Three Years]

On the fuel side of the business, the convenience retailer recorded another strong quarter both in fuel margin and gallons, according to Rebelez, who noted "with each passing quarter, we're becoming more confident that our industry has, as a necessity due to higher operating expenses, reset to a higher fuel margin environment and with our team and the capabilities that we stood up, we're focused on continuing to maximize gross profit dollars as we look ahead to the second half of fiscal [2024] and beyond."

Stepping inside the store, the chief executive called out several bright spots. Casey's private label program saw positive growth in units and gross profit dollars during the quarter. In all, the assortment now counts 310 SKUs.

Another highlight is the Casey's Rewards program, which has more than 7.3 million members. Additionally, the retailer's prepared food and dispensed beverage category is performing well, Rebelez said, noting that its thin crust pizza offer achieved a 13% share of whole pies throughout the quarter.

Q2 FY24 Results

"Our performance was excellent in the second quarter as we saw great results inside and with fuel while we continue to operate the stores efficiently," said Steve Bramlage, chief financial officer. "This was despite a challenging comparison from the second quarter last year and that's a testament to the resiliency of our business model and our team's execution."

According to Bramlage, total revenue for the quarter was $4.1 billion, an increase of $86 million (2%) from the prior year due primarily to higher inside revenues. Total inside sales for the quarter were $1.3 billion, an increase of $78 million (6%) from the prior year for the quarter.

Additional results included:

• Grocery and general merchandise sales increased by $47 million to $964 million, an increase of 5.2%;
• Prepared food and dispensed beverage sales rose by $31 million to $382 million, an increase of 8.9%;
• Retail fuel sales were up $11 million in the second quarter as a 4% increase in gallons sold to 730 million was partially offset by a 3.5% decrease in the average retail price per gallon; and 
• The average retail price of fuel during the period was $3.62 cents a gallon compared to $3.75 a year ago.

"I'm excited about Casey's and our ability to execute our strategic plan. Our balance sheet affords us the ability to be disciplined but opportunistic with our store growth and our capabilities throughout the organization will allow for that growth to be efficient and innovative," Rebelez added. 

Ankeny-based Casey's General Stores operates more than 2,500 stores across 17 states.