Logo/Elementation Couch-tard
Alimentation Couch-Tard reported net earnings of $834.1 million for the first quarter of its 2024 fiscal year, the period ending July 23. Net earnings were down $38.3 million compared to the same period last year.
Total goods and services revenue was $4.3 billion, an increase of 5.0% over the previous year. Same-store merchandise revenue increased 2.1% in the United States, 2.7% in Europe and other regions, and 6.4% in Canada.
Same-store road transportation fuel volumes increased by 0.7% in the United States, increased by 7.2% in Canada, and decreased by 1.5% in Europe and other regions. Fuel gross margin in the United States averaged 50.05 cents per gallon, an increase of 1.05 cents over the previous year.
“Fuel margins across the entire North American network remained healthy due to favorable market conditions and continued work on supply chain optimization,” the company said.
- Laval, Quebec-based Alimentation Couch-tard ranks No. 2 on CSP’s 2023 list of the top 202 convenience-store chains by store count.
However, the retailer, which does business as Circle K in 25 countries and territories, said the highlight of the quarter was the growth of its InnerCircle loyalty program, which it launched in June.
“In the beginning of the summer, we went live with the program in approximately 430 stores in the Florida business unit,” said Brian Hanash, President and CEO. Within three weeks, the program had added over 1.2 million members.
“The InnerCircle is a free membership program that features fuel rewards, dining rewards and more, while also providing new personalized experiences to our loyal customers,” said Hannah. “We couldn’t be happier with the rollout so far in terms of customer acceptance, positive feedback and the growing popularity of the app.
“We recently launched InnerCircle in the Grand Canyon, one of our largest business units, and plan to expand to more business units as the year progresses, starting in the southeastern United States. … this unique program [is] Easier and more beneficial for our customers.”
During the quarter, Couch-Tard completed the construction of 16 stores and the relocation or reconstruction of three stores, bringing the total to 19 stores since the beginning of fiscal 2024. As of July 23, another 45 stores were under construction and should open in the coming quarters.
Couch-Tard’s retail network includes more than 7,100 in the United States, primarily under the Circle K and Holiday StationStores banners, and approximately 2,100 in Canada under the Circle K, Mac and Couch-Tard banners. In Europe, Couch-Tard operates a retail network with over 2,700 stores and unmanned automated fuel stations in Scandinavia, Ireland, Poland, the Baltics and Russia. and under licensing agreements, operates more than 2,200 stores under the Circle K banner in 15 other countries and territories. This brings Couch-Tard’s total worldwide network to approximately 14,300 stores.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and enjoy exclusive benefits including unlimited access to all our content. Sign up here.
Steve Holtz is director of content for CSP, the convenience retail group at Winsight. He’s been covering the convenience-store industry for two decades…
View all articles by this author
Source: cspdailynews.com
