Murphy USA Inc. saw its net income jump 77 percent during the 2016 second quarter, but revenue decline 14 percent, the El Dorado company said Wednesday.
Murphy USA turned a profit of $46.3 million during the 2016 second quarter, an increase from $26.2 million during the same period a year ago.
The company had earnings per share of $1.17 during the quarter, compared with 59 cents during the 2015 second quarter. Analysts expected Murphy USA to post earnings per share of 99 cents.
"Second quarter results showcased the benefits of our differentiated fuel-driven business model," said Andrew Clyde, chief executive officer, in a prepared statement.
"We continue to demonstrate tangible progress among the core elements of our formula for value creation as we accelerate new store additions, generate record merchandise margins, and diligently focus on cost control initiatives, all of which result in strong improvement to our fuel break-even metric," he said.
Murphy USA shares rose 0.42 percent to $74.78 on the New York Stock Exchange. The company released its financial results after markets closed Wednesday.
Murphy USA bought back about 244,000 shares for $17 million during the quarter.
Murphy USA, which separated from Murphy Oil Corp. in 2013, is a retail fuel and convenience store company.
The company saw revenue decline from $3.5 billion last year to $3 billion during the 2016 second quarter, which ended June 30.
Murphy USA also saw same-store sales of gasoline decline 1.3 percent, said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Simmons First Investment Group Inc. in Little Rock.
"The higher merchandise sales helped temper the result of lower same-store sales," he said.
Murphy USA said total merchandise sales rose 3 percent during the quarter as a result of new stores opening. The company opened eight locations during the second quarter and now has 1,344 sites that include both Murphy USA stations and Murphy Express stations.
Murphy USA has 40 stores under construction, along with three kiosks undergoing renovations, according to the report. The company expects the locations to return to operation during the third quarter.
Murphy USA will hold a conference call to discuss its 2016 earnings report today at 10 a.m. A live webcast of the call will be available at http://ir.corporate.murphyusa.com.
Business on 08/04/2016