Pantry Reports Q4 Profit, Below Estimates

(RTTNews) - The Pantry, Inc (PTRY), a convenience store chain, Tuesday reported profit for the fourth quarter over loss in the same period last year, despite a fall in revenue year-over-year. The results were helped by lower fuel costs as well as higher income tax benefit. However, profit missed the Street estimates.

The Pantry recorded profit of $972,000, or $0.04 per share, compared with net loss of $4.77 million, or $0.21 per share, a year earlier. The cost of fuel-related goods sold declined to $1.498 billion from $1.577 million a year earlier.

Excluding certain items, the profit of the company was $1.4 million, or $0.06 per share, compared with a loss of $2 million, or $0.09 per share, a year ago. Seven analysts polled by Thomson-Reuters estimated the company's profit to be $0.10 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

For the three months to September, adjusted EBITDA declined to $49 million from $52.8 million a year earlier.

Reflecting a $75.17 million drop in fuel revenues, total revenues of the company decreased to $2.022 billion from $2.091 billion a year ago. Analysts had estimated revenue for the quarter to be $1.98 billion. Comparable-store sales for retail fuel gallons declined by 2.5 percent.

Looking ahead to the financial year 2014, the company expects net capital expenditures for the period to be between $95 million and $110 million. For the next quarter, net capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $25 million to $28 million.

The company stated, "Improving our facilities to drive profitable growth remains one of the cornerstones of our strategy. We continued upgrading our store base during the fourth quarter -- opening two new stores, rebuilding one store, completing 31 remodels and five new QSR's."

Monday, the stock closed at $14.75 on the Nasdaq.