(Montreal) Canadian food and fuel retailer Couche-Tard posted a slight 1% drop in net profit in the fourth quarter, hit by an unfavorable exchange rate and lower fuel prices.
For the fourth quarter of its staggered fiscal year (ending April 30), the global convenience store heavyweight posted net profit of US$671 million, compared to US$478 million for the same period a year earlier, according to a statement from the group. .
Excluding exceptional items and reduced to one share, adjusted net quarterly profit rose 29.1% year on year, to 71 cents.
Quarterly revenue was down 1% to $16.3 billion, primarily due to the translation of the company’s foreign currency operations into U.S. dollars as well as the average selling price of fuel, less high for road transport and other petroleum products.
Total road transportation fuel sales, which accounts for more than 70% of group revenue, was $11.9 billion, down $252 million.
This decrease was notably offset by the addition of a thirteenth week in the fourth quarter as well as the contribution from acquisitions, the company said.
Couche-Tard notably announced last week that TotalEnergies had accepted its offer to buy nearly 2,200 service stations in Germany and the Netherlands (at 100%) as well as in Belgium and Luxembourg (at 60%).
The purchase price of this transaction, which should be finalized before the end of 2023, subject to the approval of the competition authorities, is approximately 3.1 billion euros.
During this quarter, the Canadian group also acquired 10 Dion’s Quik Chik brand fuel stores in the State of Florida and 112 MAPCO brand stores located in several eastern US states.
For its staggered fiscal year as a whole, Couche-Tard saw its net profit jump 15.2% to $3.1 billion to reach sales of more than $71 billion.
