Four new-to-industry stores opened in Q2 and an additional four stores have opened already in Q3.
CST Brands Inc., an independent retailer of motor fuels and convenience merchandise in North America, reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013.
“We are extremely proud of our accomplishments since our May 1 spin,” said Kim Bowers, CST Chairman and CEO. “Our nearly 12,000 dedicated, hardworking employees never missed a beat. Our Corner Store Team Members continue to provide excellent customer service to our 10 million loyal, weekly customers; and our Service Center Team Members worked extraordinarily hard to make sure the transition to our new, independent company was a success.”
Three Months Results
For the three month period ending June 30, 2013, the company reported net income of $43 million or $0.57 per diluted share. Included in net income is a deferred tax charge of approximately $7 million resulting from the loss of certain state tax credits that were no longer eligible for use in the company’s consolidated tax return after the separation and distribution from Valero.
Excluding this spin-related tax charge, net income would have been $50 million or $0.66 per diluted share. Net income was $108 million or $1.43 per diluted share for the comparable period in 2012.
Revenues totaled $3.2 billion for the second quarter of 2013 compared to $3.3 billion for the same period of 2012. The modest decrease was driven in part by a $0.17 per gallon decline in the company’s average motor fuel selling price in the U.S. segment, accounting for $48 million of the decline in the U.S. segment motor fuel revenues.
There was an average of 21 fewer retail fuel sites operating in the Canadian segment in the second quarter of 2013, compared to the same period last year, which was the primary reason for the overall decrease of $66 million in the Canadian segment motor fuel revenues. Also contributing to the overall revenue decline in the Canadian segment was a $21 million impact from foreign currency effects of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar.
In the U.S., motor fuel gross margin (cents per gallon), after deducting credit card fees, was $0.17 compared to $0.30 in the second quarter of 2012. The company experienced historically high motor fuel gross margins in the second quarter of 2012, due primarily to the volatility of crude oil during that period. U.S. merchandise gross margin, net of credit card fees, remained relatively unchanged when compared to the second quarter of 2012.
In Canada, the motor fuel gross margin (cents per gallon), after deducting credit card fees, was $0.24 compared to $0.28 in the second quarter of 2012. The margin decline was due primarily to the volatility of crude oil in the prior year period, which resulted in higher motor fuel gross margins in the second quarter of 2012. Canada merchandise gross margin, net of credit card fees, remained unchanged when compared to the second quarter of 2012. The merchandise gross margin percentage, net of credit card fees, for the Canada segment declined, when compared to the second quarter of 2012, primarily as a result of an increase in cigarette taxes.
Operating income was $81 million for the second quarter of 2013 compared to $164 million for the second quarter of 2012. EBITDA (the non-GAAP measures, including EBITDA, are described and are reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measures in the Supplemental Disclosure section of this release) was $112 million for the three month period ending June 30, 2013 compared to $193 million for the same period in 2012. The decrease in Operating income and EBITDA was due primarily to lower fuel margins, which is discussed above.
Six Months Results
Net income for the six months ending June 30, 2013 was $64 million or $0.84 per diluted share. For the same period in 2012, net income was $122 million or $1.62 per diluted share.
For the six-month period ending June 30, 2013, revenues were approximately $6.4 billion compared to $6.6 billion for the six-month period ending June 30, 2012. The reasons for the decline were similar to the three-month period, as outlined above.
Operating income was $110 million for the six months ending June 30, 2013 compared to $183 million for the six months ending June 30, 2012. EBITDA was $172 million for the six month period ending June 30, 2013 compared to $239 million for the same period in 2012. The reasons for the decline were similar to the three-month period, which are also outlined above.
New Store Openings
CST opened five new stores in the first six months of the year; four of these were opened in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2013. Additionally, three stores were opened in the U.S. and one in Canada during July and early August.
“An important growth initiative for CST is to invest in building new stores, which provide us with more square footage to dedicate to our signature food service offerings, and an overall increase in merchandise sales,” said Bowers. “In May, we opened our largest store to date, a 10,100-square-foot Corner Store and travel center in Three Rivers, Texas, located in the heart of the Eagle Ford Shale drilling activity. While this store is quite a bit larger than our typical new store format, it has performed tremendously well in a short period of time.”
“We are very pleased with the contribution we continue to see with our new stores, which average 3,000 and 5,000 square feet in Canada and the U.S., respectively,” Bowers added. “Since the beginning of the year, we have now opened eight new stores in the U.S. and one in Canada and are on track to open seven additional stores in the U.S. and six in Canada over the remaining months of 2013. As the company heads into 2014, we have momentum and resources that should give us the ability to double our new store builds from this year in the U.S. while also maintaining the current level of new construction in Canada. We are very proud of our new store growth and equally proud of our strong base of legacy stores in neighborhoods across the southwest U.S. and eastern Canada, where our enthusiastic Corner Store Team Members have greeted and served their customers for years. And our customers can expect the same level of enthusiastic customer service at our newest stores.”
Liquidity and Capital Resources
For the three-month period ending June 30, 2013, cash flow provided by operating activities totaled $395 million. The increase in cash provided by operating activities was due primarily to the change related to the company’s payment terms on motor fuel purchased from Valero, which were increased to “net 10” days after taking title to the motor fuel.
Cash flow used in investing activities was $56 million, primarily related to capital expenditures. Cash flow provided by financing activities was $10 million, due to net activity with Valero prior to the spin, and the effect of foreign currency exchange rate changes was a reduction in cash of $5 million. Overall, cash increased in the quarter by $344 million.
Total capital expenditures for the three months ended June 30, 2013 totaled $50 million and were $90 million for the six-month period ending June 30, 2013.
“We believe that we are in a good position coming out of the spin,” said Clay Killinger, CST senior vice president and chief financial officer. “Ending the second quarter with $414 million in cash, and the additional liquidity available to us from our credit facilities, helps position us to grow for years to come.”
