Acquisition drives profit growth for Murphy USA

Murphy USA reported higher quarterly and full-year net income as the El Dorado-based gas retailer saw fuel and merchandise margins improve. The company’s acquisition and integration of QuickChek, which Murphy USA officials said would produce higher synergies, aided gains.

For the fourth quarter, Murphy USA posted net income of $108.8 million on revenue of $4.767 billion. For the full year, the company reported net income of $396.9 million on revenue of $16.758 billion. One year ago, Murphy USA produced a $386.1 million full-year profit on sales of $10.706 billion.

Diluted earnings per share for the full year were $4.23 compared to $2.16 a year ago.

“We are proud to report a second consecutive year of record EBITDA and earnings, as our advantaged everyday low price business model enables us to grow market share in the current environment,” said President and CEO Andrew Clyde. “We achieved new milestones as the fuels business generated over $1 billion in margin and merchandise sales and margin eclipsed $3 billion and $700 million, respectively.”

“These results were partially driven by QuickChek, where we surpassed our year-one target for synergy realization, even as we uncover additional potential beyond our $28 million of targeted synergies,” he added.

Same store sales for fuel increased 3% for the year. Same store sales for merchandise increased 52.7% for the year. The QuickChek acquisition accounted for this growth.

During the fourth quarter of 2021, the company opened 10 new Murphy Express stores and two QuickChek stores. It reopened nine raze-and-rebuilds and closed two QuickChek stores. The year-end store count was 1,679.

There are 13 new Murphy Express sites, one new QuickChek site, and three raze-and-rebuild Murphy USA sites currently under construction.

Shares of Murphy USA (NYSE: MUSA) closed trading Wednesday at $197.03. The company’s stock has traded between a low of $121.00 per share and a high of $202.20 per share over the last 52 weeks.