Alon USA Acquiring 14 New Mexico C-stores
DALLAS — Alon USA Energy Inc. will acquire 14 convenience stores with gas in the Albuquerque, N.M., area, President and CEO Paul Eisman revealed during the company’s 2015 fiscal second-quarter earnings call Tuesday.
Eisman said he wanted to keep the price of the transaction confidential. He also did not share information about the prior owners of the properties.
However, he did say the acquisition would increase its Albuquerque store count from 24 to 38, double its fuel sales in the area and also double its fueling positions in the New Mexico city.
“These stores fit well with our existing footprint in that market,” Eisman said. “The acquired stores are expected to immediately improve the profitability of our retail business and to be accretive to its value. The transaction is expected to close later this month.”
As CSNews Online reported from Alon’s 2015 first-quarter earnings call, the Dallas-based company is placing an emphasis on the New Mexico market. In May, the retailer opened a 4,500-square-foot store with 16 fueling positions in Rio Rancho — near Albuquerque — that Eisman said represents a “prototype for the future” of Alon.
STRONG RETAIL SEGMENT
The country’s largest 7-Eleven licensee and operator of 294 c-stores in Texas and New Mexico continued to see its retail earnings rise in its 2015 second quarter.
Net operating income increased slightly year over year to $6.8 million, while retail fuel sales increased by more than 700,000 gallons to 49.511 million gallons. Retail fuel margins increased nearly a penny per gallon to 20.3 cents per gallon.
Inside the store, total merchandise sales increased approximately $1.7 million to $84.8 million. Merchandise margins rose 1.1 percentage points to 31.8 percent.
On a per-site basis, retail fuel sales increased by 1,000 gallons per month to 58,000 gallons per month for the quarter ended June 30. Merchandise sales on a per-site basis increased by $2,000 per store per month, to $96,000 per month.
“Our retail business continues to perform well, and we remain focused on growing this business,” said Eisman.
Companywide, Alon USA Energy achieved a net profit of $36.4 million in its most recent quarter vs. a net loss of $7.5 million in 2014’s second quarter.
“We are pleased with our strong results for the second quarter of 2015,” Eisman remarked. “The excellent performance from our refining and wholesale marketing segment was complemented by solid results from our retail segment.”
Delek US Holdings Inc., which also has a convenience store division, owns 48 percent of the shares of Alon USA Energy Inc.