Crossamerica Partners LP (CAPL) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Crossamerica Partners third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call at this time. (Operator instructions) This call is being recorded on Thursday, November 7, 2024.

早安，女士們、先生們，歡迎此時參加 Crossamerica Partners 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。（接線生說明）此電話錄音時間為 2024 年 11 月 7 日星期四。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Maura Topper, CFO. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議交給財務長莫拉·托珀 (Maura Topper)。請繼續。

Thank you operator. Good morning and thank you for joining the Crossamerica Partners third-quarter 2024 earnings call with me today is Charles Nifong, CEO and President. We'll start off the call today with Charles providing some opening comments and an overview of Crossamerica's operational performance for the quarter and then I will discuss the financial results. We will then open up the call to questions.

謝謝運營商。早安，感謝您參加今天與我一起參加 Crossamerica Partners 2024 年第三季財報電話會議的是執行長兼總裁 Charles Nifong。今天的電話會議將由 Charles 提供一些開場評論和 Crossamerica 本季營運業績概述，然後我將討論財務表現。然後我們將開始提問。

Today's call will follow presentation slides that are available as part of the webcast and are posted on the Crossamerica website.

今天的電話會議將在網路廣播中提供簡報幻燈片並發佈在 Crossamerica 網站上。

Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that today's call, including the question and answer session may include forward-looking statements regarding expected revenue, future plans, future operational metrics and opportunities and expectations of the organization.

在開始之前，我想提醒大家，今天的電話會議，包括問答環節，可能包括有關預期收入、未來計劃、未來營運指標以及組織機會和期望的前瞻性陳述。

There can be no assurance that management's expectations, beliefs and projections will be achieved or that actual results will not differ from expectations. Please see Crossamerica's filings with the securities and exchange commission including annual reports on form 10-K and quarterly reports on form 10-Q for a discussion of important factors that could affect our actual results.

無法保證管理階層的期望、信念和預測能夠實現，或實際結果不會與預期不同。請參閱 Crossamerica 向證券交易委員會提交的文件，包括 10-K 表中的年度報告和 10-Q 表中的季度報告，以討論可能影響我們實際結果的重要因素。

Forward-looking statements represent the judgment of Crossamerica's management as of today's date and the organization disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements. During today's call. We may also provide certain performance measures that do not conform to US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or GAAP.

前瞻性陳述代表 Crossamerica 管理階層截至今日的判斷，該組織不承擔任何更新任何前瞻性陳述的意圖或義務。在今天的通話中。我們也可能提供某些不符合美國公認會計原則或公認會計原則的績效衡量標準。

We have provided schedules that reconcile these non-GAAP measures with our reported results on a GAAP basis as part of our earnings press release. Today's call is being webcast and a recording of this conference call will be available on the Crossamerica website for a period of 60 days.

作為我們收益新聞稿的一部分，我們提供了時間表，將這些非公認會計原則指標與我們在公認會計原則基礎上報告的結果進行協調。今天的電話會議正在網路直播，本次電話會議的錄音將在 Crossamerica 網站上保留 60 天。

With that, I will now turn the call over to Charles.

現在，我將把電話轉給查爾斯。

Thank you. Maura and I appreciate everyone joining us this morning. We thank you for listening in today and for your interest in the partnership. During today's call, I will go through some of the operating highlights for the third quarter 2024. I will also provide commentary on the market and a few other updates as I have done on our prior calls. Maura will then review in more detail our financial results.

謝謝。莫拉和我感謝大家今天早上加入我們。我們感謝您今天的收聽以及您對合作夥伴關係的興趣。在今天的電話會議中，我將回顧 2024 年第三季的一些營運亮點。正如我在之前的電話會議中所做的那樣，我還將提供對市場的評論和其他一些更新。然後莫拉將更詳細地審查我們的財務業績。

Now if you turn to slide 4, I will briefly review some of our operating results. For our retail segment, we realized a 24% increase in gross profit and a 19% increase in our operating income for the third quarter compared to the prior year, driven by our success in converting sites from the wholesale segment to the retail segment and strong same store gallons and store sales performance.

現在，如果您翻到投影片 4，我將簡要回顧我們的一些營運結果。對於我們的零售部門，我們第三季的毛利比去年同期成長了 24%，營業收入成長了 19%，這得益於我們成功將批發部門轉變為零售部門，並且強勁同店加侖數和店內銷售業績。

We manage this achievement despite an industry environment that remains soft with decreased fuel demand and weak demand in certain store categories. Considering the industry environment backdrop, our performance for the third quarter was good with our retail segment benefiting from strong fuel margins and outperforming the overall market in gallons and inside store sales.

儘管產業環境依然疲軟，燃料需求下降且某些商店類別需求疲軟，但我們仍取得了這項成就。考慮到行業環境背景，我們第三季的業績良好，我們的零售部門受益於強勁的燃料利潤率，並且在加侖和店內銷售方面優於整體市場。

Our motor fuel gross profit increased 26% and our merchandise gross profit increased 20% for the quarter when compared to the same period in 2023. On the fuel margin front, our retail fuel margin on a cents per gallon basis increased 9% year-over-year as our fuel margin was $0.406 per gallon in the third quarter of 2024 compared to $0.372 per gallon in the third quarter of 2023.

與 2023 年同期相比，本季我們的汽車燃料毛利潤成長了 26%，商品毛利增加了 20%。在燃料利潤方面，我們的零售燃料利潤率（以每加侖美分計算）年增9%，2024 年第三季我們的燃料利潤率為每加侖0.406 美元，而2023 年第三季為每加侖0.372美元。

The retail fuel margin for the third quarter of 2024 was the highest fuel margin for a quarter for the year well above the $0.373 per gallon and $0.308 per gallon for the second and first quarters respectively.

2024 年第三季的零售燃料利潤率是當年季度最高的燃料利潤率，遠高於第二季和第一季的每加侖 0.373 美元和 0.308 美元。

Our fuel margin for the quarter benefited from a generally declining crude oil price trend during most of the quarter, which as we have discussed on prior calls tends to benefit retail fuel margins due to the slower adjustment of retail fuel street pricing to such market conditions. For volume, on a same store basis, our overall retail volume was flat for the quarter year-over-year.

我們本季的燃料利潤率受益於本季大部分時間原油價格趨勢的普遍下降，正如我們在先前的電話會議中所討論的那樣，由於零售燃料街頭定價對這種市場條件的調整速度較慢，這往往有利於零售燃料利潤率。就銷售而言，以同店計算，本季我們的整體零售量與去年同期持平。

Based on national demand data available to us, national gasoline demand was down approximately 5% for the quarter. So on a relative basis, our same store retail volume outperformed. In particular, our company operated stores performed very well during the quarter growing same store volume by approximately 2% for the quarter year-over-year. Primarily due to strong performance in our northeast locations, particularly in New York which benefited from strong volume at our New York throughway sites.

根據我們掌握的全國需求數據，本季全國汽油需求下降了約 5%。所以相對而言，我們的同店零售量跑贏大盤。特別是，我們公司經營的門市在本季表現非常出色，同店銷量較去年同期成長約 2%。主要是由於我們東北地區的強勁表現，尤其是紐約，受益於我們紐約直通站點的強勁交易量。

We successfully achieved our strong growing performance without sacrificing fuel margin as evident in the strong fuel margin results for the quarter. In the period since the quarter end, retail same store volume company operated and commission has been strongly up over the prior year.

我們在不犧牲燃料利潤率的情況下成功實現了強勁的業績成長，本季強勁的燃料利潤率結果證明了這一點。自季末以來，公司零售同店經營量和佣金較上年大幅成長。

This is in contrast to overall national demand which has been down roughly 4% in the period since the quarter end. In the same period, retail fuel margins have been generally good, although at a slightly lower level than the overall results from the third quarter in part, due to the rise in oil prices during the first weeks of October. For inside sales on a same store basis, our inside sales were down 1% compared to the prior year for the third quarter.

這與自季度末以來全國整體需求下降約 4% 形成鮮明對比。同期，零售燃料利潤率整體良好，儘管略低於第三季的整體業績，部分原因是十月份前幾週油價上漲。同店內部銷售，第三季我們的內部銷售比去年同期下降了 1%。

Inside sales, excluding cigarettes were flat year-over-year on a same store basis for the quarter. As with fuel demand based on national demand data available to us, national demand for inside store sales was weak for the quarter with both overall sales and unit count numbers down compared to the prior year.

本季同店內部銷售（不含捲菸）與去年同期持平。與基於我們可獲得的全國需求數據的燃料需求一樣，本季全國店內銷售需求疲軟，整體銷售量和單位數量均較上年下降。

So again, on a relative basis, our retail segment inside sales outperformed the industry for the quarter. Across America, our store sales performance was primarily led by the categories of packaged beverages and other tobacco as in the prior quarters.

因此，相對而言，本季我們的零售部門內部銷售表現再次優於同業。在整個美國，與前幾季一樣，我們的商店銷售業績主要由包裝飲料和其他菸草類別主導。

On the store merchandise margin front, our merchandise gross profit increased 20% to $30.5 million driven by our increased sales from the higher store count. The store merchandise margin declined slightly relative to the prior year due to certain costs associated with the expansion of our food and beverage offerings, particularly in recently converted retail locations in the period.

在商店商品利潤率方面，由於商店數量增加，銷售額增加，我們的商品毛利增加了 20%，達到 3,050 萬美元。由於與我們的食品和飲料產品擴張相關的某些成本，商店商品利潤率較上年略有下降，特別是在該期間最近轉型的零售店。

Since the quarter end, same store sales have been approximately flat to the prior year, which is an improvement to the year-over-year sales performance for our sites for the month of September when store sales were slightly down, and also still indicative of the ongoing soft demand environment across the industry.

自季度末以來，同店銷售額與上年基本持平，這比 9 月份我們網站的同比銷售業績有所改善，當時店面銷售額略有下降，並且仍然表明整個行業持續的疲軟需求環境。

In our retail segment, if you look at our company operated site count, we're up 79 company operated retail sites from the prior year. The increase in company operated site count was primarily driven by our completion of the conversion of the Apple Green lease locations to company operated retail sites in April.

在我們的零售領域，如果您查看我們公司經營的站點數量，您會發現我們比前一年增加了 79 個公司經營的零售站點。公司營運站點數量的增加主要是由於我們在 4 月完成了 Apple Green 租賃站點向公司營運零售站點的轉換。

Our company operated site count is flat to the second quarter of this year at 372 company operated locations as we gave our team a break on company operated site conversions for the third quarter and focus our efforts on the operations at our newly converted sites.

我們公司營運的站點數量與今年第二季持平，為372 個公司營運站點，因為我們在第三季讓我們的團隊在公司營運站點轉換上休息一下，並將精力集中在新轉換站點的營運上。

Our commission agent site count increased 36 sites relative to the third quarter of 2023, and 8 sites relative to the second quarter of this year. These conversions are typically easier to do in a conversion to a company operated location as in many cases, converting an existing site to the commission class of trade involves retaining the existing dealer at the location.

與 2023 年第三季相比，我們的佣金代理站點數量增加了 36 個站點，與今年第二季相比增加了 8 個站點。這些轉換通常在轉換為公司營運地點時更容易完成，因為在許多情況下，將現有地點轉換為佣金類別交易涉及保留該地點的現有經銷商。

We are simply changing the economic relationship with the dealer. As we stated last quarter, we have been successful at doing these conversions of sites to the commission class of trade in a manner that is mutually beneficial economically for both us and the dealer creating a win-win situation that enables all of us to be better off and have a productive relationship with the dealer now, commission agent going forward.

我們只是在改變與經銷商的經濟關係。正如我們上季度所說，我們已經成功地將網站轉換為佣金類別的貿易，這種方式對我們和經銷商來說都是經濟上互惠互利的，創造了雙贏的局面，使我們所有人都能變得更好現在與經銷商建立了富有成效的關係，未來將有佣金代理。

In other cases, the conversion involves a change of dealer at the site which typically allows us to bring in a dealer that will operate the convenience store at a higher level and provide a better consumer experience at the location.

在其他情況下，轉換涉及現場經銷商的變更，這通常允許我們引入能夠以更高水平經營便利商店並在該地點提供更好的消費者體驗的經銷商。

In total, we increased our overall retail site count by 115 sites during the third quarter of 2024 compared to our retail site count at the end of the third quarter of 2023, and we added eight commission locations during the third quarter relative to the second quarter of this year.

總體而言，與2023 年第三季末的零售站點數量相比，我們在2024 年第三季的整體零售站點數量增加了115 個站點，與第二季相比，我們在第三季增加了8 個佣金站點今年的。

Based on these numbers, you can see that we have been extremely active during the past 12 months with site conversions and executing on our strategy to increase our exposure to retail fuel margins and the retail business overall.

根據這些數字，您可以看到我們在過去 12 個月中非常積極地進行網站轉換並執行我們的策略，以增加我們對零售燃料利潤和整體零售業務的敞口。

Moving on to the wholesale segment for the third quarter of 2024, our wholesale segment gross profit declined 16% to $27.6 million compared to $32.9 million in the third quarter of 2023. The decrease was driven by a decline in fuel volume, partially offset by an increase in margin per gallon.

轉向 2024 年第三季的批發部門，我們的批發部門毛利下降 16%，至 2,760 萬美元，而 2023 年第三季為 3,290 萬美元。下降的原因是燃油量下降，但每加侖利潤的增加部分抵消了這一下降。

The primary factor by a significant degree in the overall bond decline was the conversion of certain lefty dealer sites to company operated and commission agent sites which are now accounted for in the retail segment.

整體債券下跌的主要因素是某些左翼經銷商網站轉變為公司營運和佣金代理網站，這些網站現在屬於零售領域。

Our wholesale motor fuel gross profit decreased 10% to $16.9 million in the third quarter of 2024 from $18.8 million in the third quarter of 2023 our fuel margin increased 5% from $0.86 per gallon in the third quarter of 2023 to $0.09 per gallon. In the third quarter of 2024. The increase in our wholesale fuel margin per gallon was primarily driven by the relative level of crude oil prices within the two periods and its corresponding impact on the terms discounts we receive on certain gallons.

我們的批發汽車燃料毛利從2023 年第三季的1,880 萬美元下降到2024 年第三季的1,690 萬美元，下降了10%。增加到每加侖0.09 美元，成長了5%。2024年第三季。每加侖批發燃料利潤的增加主要是由於兩個時期內原油價格的相對水平及其對我們在某些​​加侖上獲得的條款折扣的相應影響所致。

We also benefited this quarter from a reduction in our fuel sourcing costs as we continue to work on achieving better purchase terms for our fuel supply and we also experienced favorable market conditions for certain other gallons. Our wholesale volume was 186.9 million gallons for the third quarter of 2024 compared to 217.3 million gallons in the third quarter of 2023, reflecting a decline of 14%.

本季我們也受惠於燃料採購成本的降低，因為我們繼續努力為我們的燃料供應實現更好的採購條件，我們也經歷了某些其他加侖的有利市場條件。2024 年第三季我們的批發量為 1.869 億加侖，而 2023 年第三季為 2.173 億加侖，下降了 14%。

The decline in volume when compared to the same period in 2023 was primarily due to the conversion of certain messy dealer sites to our retail class of trade, the gallons from these converted sites are now reflected in our retail segment results. For the quarter, 0ur same store volume in the wholesale segment was down approximately 2% every year. So the additional 12% drop in volume, the difference between the overall volume decline of 14% and our same store volume decline of 2% for the segment was largely due to converting sites to the retail segment.

與 2023 年同期相比，銷售下降主要是由於某些雜亂的經銷商站點轉換為我們的零售類別貿易，這些轉換站點的加侖數現已反映在我們的零售部門業績中。本季度，批發領域的同店銷量每年下降約 2%。因此，銷量額外下降 12%，該細分市場的整體銷量下降 14% 與同店銷量下降 2% 之間的差異主要是由於將網站轉變為零售細分市場。

As mentioned in my retail segment comments, national demand data available to us indicated national fuel demand was down around 5% for the quarter. So our same store wholesale volume performance for the third quarter outperformed overall national demand. In the period since the quarter end, (inaudible) has continued to be down around 2% year-over-year. So our wholesale same sort of volume is continuing to be negative year-over-year, but also continuing to outperform overall national volume data.

正如我在零售部門評論中提到的，我們獲得的全國需求數據表明，本季全國燃料需求下降了 5% 左右。所以我們第三季的同店批發量表現優於全國整體需求。自季度末以來，（聽不清楚）年比繼續下降 2% 左右。因此，我們的同類批發量持續年減，但也持續跑贏全國整體銷售數據。

Regarding our wholesale rent, our base rent for the quarter was $10.4 million compared to the prior year of $13 million, a decrease due to the conversion of certain lessing dealer sites to company operated sites. As we have stated in the past, these rent dollars while no longer in the form of rent are now in our retail segment results through our fuel and store sales margins at these locations which help to drive our increase in retail segment operating income for the quarter.

關於我們的批發租金，本季的基本租金為 1,040 萬美元，而上一年為 1,300 萬美元，由於某些租賃經銷商站點轉變為公司營運站點，租金有所下降。正如我們過去所說，這些租金雖然不再以租金的形式存在，但現在透過這些地點的燃料和商店銷售利潤計入我們的零售部門業績中，這有助於推動我們本季度零售部門營業收入的增長。

During the quarter, we divested nine properties for $7.2 million in proceeds, resulting in a net gain of $5.3 million. Our divestiture activity in the third quarter continued the strong second quarter we had for property sales. Our pipeline of transactions is quite active and we expect the fourth quarter to be another busy quarter for us with property sales.

本季度，我們出售了 9 處房產，獲得了 720 萬美元的收益，淨收益為 530 萬美元。我們第三季的資產剝離活動延續了第二季房地產銷售的強勁勢頭。我們的交易管道相當活躍，我們預計第四季將是我們房地產銷售的另一個繁忙季度。

Our volume of transactions in this area is evidence of the execution of our overall business strategy as we seek to exit certain sites to generate capital to deploy elsewhere in our portfolio or into our balance sheet. Overall, we had a strong quarter, highlighted by the positive financial results from our strategic site conversions to retail operations.

我們在這一領域的交易量證明了我們整體業務策略的執行，因為我們尋求退出某些地點以產生資本以部署到我們的投資組合或資產負債表的其他地方。總體而言，我們度過了一個強勁的季度，突出表現在我們的策略站點轉換為零售業務所取得的積極財務業績。

Our retail segment delivered solid operating and financial metrics demonstrating the effectiveness of this strategy. Even with ongoing demand challenges, our relative volume and sales results reflect that consumers continue to see significant value in our retail offerings, positioning us as a preferred destination.

我們的零售部門提供了可靠的營運和財務指標，證明了這項策略的有效性。即使面臨持續的需求挑戰，我們的相對銷售和銷售結果也反映出消費者繼續看到我們零售產品的巨大價值，使我們成為首選目的地。

With that, I'll turn it over to Maura for more detailed financial review.

這樣，我會將其交給莫拉進行更詳細的財務審查。

Thank you, Charles. If you would please turn to slide 6, I would like to review our third quarter results for the partnership.

謝謝你，查爾斯。如果您願意，請翻到投影片 6，我想回顧一下我們合作關係的第三季業績。

We reported net income of $10.7 million for the third quarter of 2024 compared to net income of $12.3 million in the third quarter of 2023. Adjusted EBITDA was $43.9 million for the third quarter of 2024, a slight decrease of 1% from adjusted EBITDA of $44.2 million for the third quarter of 2023. Though, as Charles has reviewed the changes in the composition of that adjusted EBITDA as a result of our strategic initiatives.

我們報告 2024 年第三季的淨利潤為 1,070 萬美元，而 2023 年第三季的淨利潤為 1,230 萬美元。2024 年第三季調整後 EBITDA 為 4,390 萬美元，比 2023 年第三季調整後 EBITDA 4,420 萬美元小幅下降 1%。儘管如此，查爾斯已經審查了由於我們的策略舉措而導致的調整後 EBITDA 的組成變化。

Our distributable cash flow for the third quarter of 2024 was $27.1 million compared to $31.4 million for the third quarter of 2023. The decline in distributable cash flow year-over-year was primarily due to an increase in interest expense as well as slightly higher sustaining capital spending.

2024 年第三季我們的可分配現金流量為 2,710 萬美元，而 2023 年第三季為 3,140 萬美元。可分配現金流量較去年同期下降主要是由於利息支出增加以及維持性資本支出略有增加。

Our higher sustaining capital spending is a function of our increased site count in the retail segment, particularly company operated locations, which require an elevated level of capital reinvestment to ensure they remain attractive locations for our customers to visit. Our distribution coverage for the current quarter was 1.36 times compared to 1.57 times for the third quarter of 2023.

我們較高的持續資本支出是我們在零售領域的站點數量增加的結果，特別是公司運營的站點，這需要更高水平的資本再投資，以確保它們仍然對我們的客戶具有吸引力。我們目前季度的分配覆蓋率為 1.36 倍，而 2023 年第三季為 1.57 倍。

Our distribution coverage for the trailing 12 months ended September 30, 2024 was 1.26 times compared to 1.43 times for the same period ended September 30, 2023. During the third quarter of 2024, the partnership paid a distribution of $0.525 per unit. Charles discussed some of the primary drivers of our top line and gross profit performance for the quarter in his comments.

截至2024年9月30日的過去12個月，我們的分配覆蓋率為1.26倍，而截至2023年9月30日的同期為1.43倍。2024 年第三季度，該合夥企業支付了每單位 0.525 美元的分配。查爾斯在評論中討論了我們本季營收和毛利表現的一些主要驅動因素。

Turning to the expense portion of our operations, operating expenses for the third quarter increased $10.2 million compared to the 2023 third quarter. This was comprised of a $0.9 million decrease in operating expenses in our wholesale segment offset by an $11.1 million increase in operating expenses in our retail segment. Both changes were primarily driven by our conversion of sites from our wholesale segment to our retail segment.

談到我們營運的費用部分，第三季的營運費用比 2023 年第三季增加了 1,020 萬美元。其中批發部門營運費用減少了 90 萬美元，而零售部門營運費用增加了 1,110 萬美元。這兩項變化主要是由於我們將網站從批發部門轉換為零售部門而推動的。

Our retail segment average site count increased 23% year-over-year, including a 27% increase in company operated locations. Company operated locations are our highest per site expense class of trade and so that site count increase drove the majority of the 27% year-over-year increase in operating expenses in the retail segment.

我們的零售部門平均網點數量年增 23%，其中公司營運網點數量增加 27%。該公司經營的門市是我們行業中單位站點費用最高的類別，因此站點數量的增加推動了零售領域營運費用年比 27% 的成長。

On a same store basis, operating expenses for our company operated locations increased just under 4% year-over-year. An area of strength was our continued focus on managing our store labor costs with total same store employment costs down approximately 1% year-over-year. Our third consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines in employment costs.

以同店計算，我們公司經營地點的營運費用年增率略低於 4%。我們的優勢領域是持續專注於管理門市勞動成本，同店總僱用成本較去年同期下降約 1%。我們的就業成本連續第三季年減。

Our team continues to work on staffing our locations with efficient hours and is benefiting from more moderate wage increases than experienced over the prior two to three years. We did experience same store cost increases in repairs and maintenance, including environmental maintenance and supplies during the quarter. Our focus in these areas is to spend efficiently and effectively in the parts of our sites that are customer facing, again to ensure a continued valuable customer experience.

我們的團隊繼續致力於以高效的工作時間為我們的工作地點配備人員，並受益於比過去兩到三年更為溫和的工資增長。本季度，我們確實經歷了維修和維護（包括環境維護和供應）的同店成本增加。我們在這些領域的重點是在我們網站面向客戶的部分進行高效且有效的支出，再次確保持續提供有價值的客戶體驗。

Our G&A expenses increased $0.4 million for the quarter year-over-year, primarily due to higher management fees as we have selectively added head count to support the organization's growth in the retail segment, as well as increased legal expense as part of our ongoing class of trade optimization and divestiture work.

本季我們的一般管理費用年增了40 萬美元，主要是由於我們有選擇地增加員工人數以支持組織在零售領域的成長，因此管理費增加，以及作為我們正在進行的課程的一部分的法律費用增加貿易優化和剝離工作。

Moving to the next slide, we spent a total of $7.7 million on capital expenditures during the third quarter with $5.1 million of that total being growth related capital expenditures. During this past quarter, growth related capital spending included investments in the back court of our company operated portfolio to add additional food and product options at selected sites as well as targeted site image investments which are often accompanied with incentives or reimbursements from our fuel suppliers.

轉到下一張投影片，第三季我們總共花了 770 萬美元的資本支出，其中 510 萬美元是與成長相關的資本支出。在過去的這個季度，與成長相關的資本支出包括對我們公司營運的投資組合後場的投資，以在選定的地點增加額外的食品和產品選擇，以及有針對性的地點形象投資，這些投資通常伴隨著我們燃料供應商的激勵或報銷。

As of September 30, 2024, our total credit facility balance was $772.4 million which was a $26 million decrease from our March 31, 2024 balance. Our strong operational performance over the past two quarters, coupled with our success in divesting non-core assets that Charles reviewed allowed us to reinvest in our business, complete our quarterly distributions and deleverage during the course of the past two quarters.

截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日，我們的信貸額度總額為 7.724 億美元，比 2024 年 3 月 31 日的餘額減少了 2,600 萬美元。我們在過去兩個季度的強勁營運業績，加上我們在剝離查爾斯審查的非核心資產方面取得的成功，使我們能夠在過去兩個季度中對我們的業務進行再投資，完成我們的季度分配和去槓桿化。

Our credit facility defined leverage ratio was 4.21 times as of September 30, 2024, which was a decrease from 4.39 times as of June 30, 2024. We remain focused on managing our leverage ratio at approximately 4 times on a credit facility defined basis.

截至2024年9月30日，我們的信貸額度定義槓桿率為4.21倍，較截至2024年6月30日的4.39倍下降。我們仍然專注於在信貸額度定義的基礎上將槓桿率控制在約 4 倍。

Our cash interest expense increased from $10.1 million in the third quarter of 2023 to $13.7 million in the third quarter of 2024. We had positive rate savings from the interest rate swaps we entered into during 2023, but did have three highly valuable interest rate swaps from the first quarter of 2020, expire at the end of the first quarter of 2024, which increased our overall interest costs.

我們的現金利息支出從 2023 年第三季的 1,010 萬美元增加到 2024 年第三季的 1,370 萬美元。我們從2023 年期間簽訂的利率互換中獲得了正利率節省，但從2020 年第一季開始確實進行了三筆高價值的利率互換，並於2024 年第一季末到期，這增加了我們的整體利息成本。

At this time, a little more than 50% of our current credit facility balance is swapped to a fixed rate of approximately 3.4% blended, which is an advantaged rate in the current rate environment. Our credit facility balance during the third quarter of 2024 was also higher than the prior year primarily due to the Applegreen transaction that we completed during the second quarter.

目前，我們目前信貸額度餘額的 50% 多一點被轉換為約 3.4% 的混合固定利率，這是當前利率環境下的優勢利率。我們在 2024 年第三季的信貸額度餘額也高於去年同期，主要是因為我們在第二季完成了 Applegreen 交易。

Our elevated credit facility balance also contributed to the increase in our interest expense year-over-year. Our effective interest rate on the total (inaudible) credit facility at the end of the third quarter is 6.5%.

我們的信貸額度餘額增加也導致利息支出較去年同期增加。截至第三季末，我們對總（聽不清楚）信貸額度的實際利率為 6.5%。

In conclusion, as Charles noted, the partnership performed well during the third quarter of 2024, in spite of the softer demand environment experienced in fuel and store sales. We remain focused as a team on continuing to execute in our base business, as well as the ongoing efforts to ramp operations of our converted stores to optimize the performance moving forward. We continue to focus on generating durable and consistent cash flows with a focus on maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet and driving value for our unit holders.

總之，正如 Charles 指出的那樣，儘管燃料和商店銷售的需求環境較為疲軟，但該合作夥伴關係在 2024 年第三季表現良好。作為一個團隊，我們仍然專注於繼續執行我們的基礎業務，並不斷努力提高改造後商店的運營，以優化未來的業績。我們繼續專注於產生持久且一致的現金流，重點是維持強大而靈活的資產負債表並為我們的單位持有人創造價值。

With that, we will open it up for questions.

至此，我們將開放提問。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. (Operator instructions)

謝謝。女士們、先生們，我們現在開始問答環節。（操作員說明）

Well, it doesn't appear we have any questions today. Should you have any follow on questions, please feel free to contact us. Again, we appreciate everyone joining us today. Have a great day.

嗯，看來我們今天沒有任何問題。如果您有任何後續問題，請隨時與我們聯繫。再次感謝今天加入我們的所有人。祝你有美好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines. Have a great day.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與，並請您斷開線路。祝你有美好的一天。