Speedway's Q3 Sales Decline

FINDLAY, OHIO -- Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s Speedway convenience store chain division earned $85 million for its fiscal third quarter ending Sept. 30. That compares to $105 million the company earned during the same quarter last year.

Merchandise sales also shrunk to $797 million, compared to $867 million during 2010's third quarter, and same-store gasoline sales volume evaporated by 2 percent.

Gary Heminger, Marathon Petroleum's CEO, president and director, attributed the declines to the company's subtraction of 166 stores and 67 franchise convenience stores that were part of the company's December 2010 Minnesota refinery and asset sale. Speedway was operating 1,374 stores as of September 30, compared to 1,594 on September 30, 2010.

Despite the sale, Heminger said Speedway intends to "grow through selective acquisitions."

As a whole, Marathon Petroleum earned $1.13 billion in net income for its latest quarter, compared to $277 million during its 2010 fiscal third quarter. Revenues rose to $20.6 billion, compared to $15.9 billion during the same period last year.

"We had a very strong quarter," Heminger said during this morning's conference call. "During the third quarter, we executed on our ability to process crude oil in the U.S. mid-continent, Canada and from virtually anywhere else in the world."