Susser Holdings narrows 1Q loss on higher revenue
Higher sales of fuel, merchandise help Susser Holdings narrow its 1Q loss
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) -- Susser Holdings Corp., which sells gasoline and merchandise at convenience stores, narrowed its first-quarter loss on a 5 percent increase in revenue.
Susser lost $232,000, or a penny per share, compared with a loss of $528,000, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts expected a loss of 5 cents per share, according to FactSet.
Revenue rose to $1.49 billion from $1.41 billion, matching analysts' forecasts. The results included Susser Petroleum Partners LP, a publicly traded affiliate and fuel distributor.
Both Fuel and merchandise sales at stores open at least a year rose about 4 percent in the quarter, slower than in 2012.
But the company made a better profit on each gallon of fuel sold. Excluding credit card expenses, the margin was 16.6 cents per gallon, up from 13.3 cents per gallon a year ago.
Susser, based in Corpus Christi, operates about 560 Stripes convenience stores in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Many of the stores include Laredo Taco Company restaurants, but most of the company's revenue comes from retail and wholesale fuel sales.
The shares fell $3.23, or 6 percent, to $51.55 in afternoon trading. The stock is up about 50 percent so far in 2013.
