Quarterly income up for Murphy USA, revenue declines
El Dorado-based Murphy USA on Wednesday (July 31) posted second quarter net income of $144.8 million, above the $132.8 million in the same quarter of 2023. Earnings per share of $6.92 matched the consensus estimate.
Murphy, one of the largest convenience store chain operators in the U.S., posted quarterly revenue of $5.451 billion, below the $5.585 billion in the same quarter of 2023, and below the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion.
“Murphy USA’s advantaged business model delivered strong second quarter results led by continued outperformance in the core non-discretionary fuel and tobacco categories,” Murphy President and CEO Andrew Clyde said in the earnings report. “Record second quarter retail fuel contribution dollars helped make up for a slow start in the first quarter and clearly demonstrated that structural margin dynamics remain intact, despite limited volatility versus prior years.”
Net income in the first half of 2024 for the retailer totaled $210.8 million, down 11.8% compared with the $239.1 million in the first half of 2023. Revenue in the first half totaled $10.295 billion, below the $10.662 billion in the same period of 2023.
The company said total fuel revenue in the quarter was $390.3 million, up 6.7% compared to the same period in 2023. The company said higher margins partially offset lower retail volumes sold during the period. Murphy USA sold 1.231 billion gallons of fuel in the quarter, slightly below the 1.238 billion in the same quarter of 2023.
Total merchandise contribution increased 4.7% to $216.5 million in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2023. Merchandise sales revenue was 19.8% of total revenue in the quarter, above the 18.8% in the same quarter of 2023.
“Total tobacco contribution dollars in Q2 2024 increased 10.3% and non-tobacco contribution dollars increased 0.3% compared to Q2 2023,” the company noted.
The company reduced its full-year guidance on merchandise sales from an initial range of $860 million to $880 million to a range of $830 million to $840 million.
“While nicotine results have been stronger than planned in 2024, we have experienced weaker than expected consumer demand, particularly in the Northeast, that has impacted both core food and beverage traffic drivers and related discretionary center-of-store sales. We expect the lower demand to persist through the remainder of 2024 and mostly offset the benefits from some of our back-half weighted initiatives,” the company noted in the earnings report.
A store raze-and-rebuild program is being revised to more than 40 stores in the year, up from an initial range of 35 to 40.
Murphy USA has more than 1,700 convenience stores and more than 15,000 employees. The majority of Murphy USA’s stores are located in close proximity to Walmart Supercenters. Murphy shares (NYSE: MUSA) closed Wednesday at $504.92, down 18 cents. During the past 52 weeks the share price ranged between $520 and $282.49.