US convenience retailer Casey’s General Stores saw its earnings fall in fiscal 2013 but sounded an optimistic note for the new financial year.
Earnings in the 12 month period amounted to US$110.6m, a 5.3% drop on last year. The company said lower cigarette prices and bad weather contributed to the drop in profit for the year to the end of April.
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Earnings also were affected by $3.5m in unrecoverable accounts, in addition to charges related to replaced, closed and under-performing stores.
Pre-tax profit, however, was up 4.6% to $175.1m, while sales climbed 3.7% to $7.25bn. The company reported same-store sales growth in its grocery and other merchandise division of 0.8%.
For fiscal 2014, Casey’s is forecasting increased same-store grocery and other merchandise sales of 5% with an average margin of 32.3%.
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