Following a hot Q4 2023, Murphy USA revealed its full financial results from both the quarter and the year overall. Murphy USA CEO Andrew Clyde praised the company for its strong foundations and attributed its success to the effective execution of its strategy.

Notable Highlights:

• Net income was $150 million in Q4 2023 compared to net income of $117.7 million in Q4 2022. For the full year 2023, net income was $556.8 million, compared to 2022 net income of $672.9 million.
• Total fuel contribution for Q4 2023 was 32.5 cpg, compared to 30.6 cpg in Q4 2022. For the year, total fuel contribution was 31.4 cpg, compared to 34.3 cpg in 2022.
• Total retail gallons were 1.2 billion in both Q4 2023 and Q4 2022, while volumes on a same store sales (SSS) basis declined 2% in Q4 2023 compared to Q4 2022. Total retail gallons were 4.8 billion gallons for both full year 2023 and 2022, and volumes on a SSS basis for the full year 2023 decreased 1.8% compared to the prior-year period.
• Merchandise contribution dollars for Q4 2023 increased 4.6% to $197.7 million on average unit margins of 19.4%, compared to Q4 2022 contribution dollars of $189 million on unit margins of 19.1%. For the full year 2023, merchandise contribution dollars increased 4.7% to $803.4 million and average unit margins were 19.7% in both 2023 and 2022.
• During Q4 2023, the company repurchased approximately 442,000 common shares for $162 million at an average price of $366.42 per share. For the year, the company repurchased slightly more than 1 million shares for a total of $336.2 million at an average of $327.55 per share.

“2023 financial results and operational performance are a testament to the strong foundations we have built at Murphy USA over the last decade, successfully executing against our strategy, and widening our advantage in the marketplace,” said president and CEO Andrew Clyde. “Structural resilience in fuel margins coupled with high volumes generated over $1.5 billion in fuel contribution in 2023 … We executed a balanced capital program in 2023, investing in new store growth and repurchasing over 1 million shares, while maintaining a strong and agile balance sheet. We are bringing a lot of momentum with us into 2024, leveraging the highest fourth quarter net income and Adjusted EBITDA in company history, and providing us with further opportunities to drive shareholder value creation for long-term investors.”

Other Key Figures

Organic Growth:

• Murphy USA noted that new store additions and investments in raze-and-rebuild sites reflect its expectation of being able to sustain a higher level of growth into 2024 and beyond, utilizing the company’s disciplined capital approach and prioritizing the highest return projects across competing opportunity sets.

Fuel Contribution:

• The company’s low-price offering continues to resonate with customers, retaining prior year market share gains in 2023 which Murphy expects to persist in 2024, resulting in flat to slightly higher per store volumes.

Store Profitability:

• Material growth in merchandise contribution is based on expected impact from new stores, raze-and-rebuilds and ongoing promotional and center-of-store focused initiatives, particularly in the food and beverage categories.
• Growth in store operating expenses per site will likely be modestly higher in 2024 as the company builds larger new stores, rebuilds existing stores and invests in people and technology, which will in turn drive a higher rate of growth in merchandise contribution.

Murphy also revealed that total store and other operating expenses were $7.1 million higher in Q4 2023 versus Q4 2022, and were $38.3 million higher for the year compared to 2022. This was “mainly due to employee related expenses, store maintenance costs and inventory shrink costs, in each case partially offset by lower payment fees,” the company noted in a press release.