Caseys General Stores Inc (CASY) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the third quarter ended January 31, 2023, Casey's General Stores Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Brian Johnson, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Business Development. Please go ahead.

美好的一天，謝謝你的支持。歡迎來到截至 2023 年 1 月 31 日的第三季度 Casey's General Stores 收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。我現在想把會議交給今天的演講者，投資者關係和業務發展高級副總裁布賴恩約翰遜。請繼續。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us to discuss the results from our third quarter ended January 31, 2023. I am Brian Johnson, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Business Development. With me today are Darren Rebelez, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Steve Bramlage, Chief Financial Officer.

早上好，感謝您加入我們討論截至 2023 年 1 月 31 日的第三季度業績。我是投資者關係和業務發展高級副總裁布賴恩約翰遜。今天和我在一起的是總裁兼首席執行官 Darren Rebelez；首席財務官 Steve Bramlage。

Before we begin, I'll remind you that certain statements made by us during this investor call may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include any statements relating to expectations for future periods, possible or assumed future results of operations, financial conditions, liquidity and related sources or needs, the company's supply chain, business and integration strategies, plans and synergies, growth opportunities and performance at our stores.

在我們開始之前，我會提醒您，我們在本次投資者電話會議期間所做的某些陳述可能構成 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述包括與預期相關的任何陳述未來時期、可能或假設的未來經營業績、財務狀況、流動性和相關來源或需求、公司的供應鏈、業務和整合戰略、計劃和協同效應、增長機會和我們商店的業績。

There are a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, the integration of the recent acquisitions, our ability to execute on our strategic plan or to realize benefits from the strategic plan, the impact and duration of the conflict in Ukraine and related governmental actions as well as other risks, uncertainties and factors, which are described in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC and available on our website.

有許多已知和未知的風險、不確定性和其他因素可能導致我們的實際結果與那些前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示的任何未來結果存在重大差異，包括但不限於近期收購的整合、我們執行戰略計劃或從戰略計劃中獲益的能力、烏克蘭衝突和相關政府行動的影響和持續時間以及我們最近的年度報告中描述的其他風險、不確定性和因素向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 表格和 10-Q 表格的季度報告，可在我們的網站上獲取。

Any forward-looking statements made during this call reflect our current views as of today with respect to future events, and Casey's disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP financial measures referenced in this call as well as a detailed breakdown of the operating expense increase for the third quarter can be found on our website at www.caseys.com under the Investor Relations link.

本次電話會議期間作出的任何前瞻性陳述都反映了我們截至今天對未來事件的當前看法，Casey's 不承擔更新或修改前瞻性陳述的任何意圖或義務，無論是由於新信息、未來事件還是其他原因.本次電話會議中引用的非 GAAP 與 GAAP 財務指標的對賬以及第三季度運營費用增長的詳細細目可在我們網站 www.caseys.com 的“投資者關係”鏈接下找到。

With that said, I'd now like to turn the call over to Darren to discuss our third quarter results. Darren?

話雖如此，我現在想把電話轉給達倫來討論我們第三季度的業績。達倫？

Thanks, Brian, and good morning, everyone. We'll get to the strong third quarter results in a moment. But first, I want to thank our team for their dedication during a great quarter. They continue to show their resilience in a challenging operating environment.

謝謝，布萊恩，大家早上好。我們馬上就會看到強勁的第三季度業績。但首先，我要感謝我們的團隊在一個偉大的季度中所做的奉獻。他們在充滿挑戰的運營環境中繼續展現韌性。

Our team is also here for good in the communities we serve, like Dawson Springs, Kentucky as the community continues to recover from last year's devastating tornadoes and storms. Joining forces with Gatorade, we provided $100,000 towards the rebuilding of the local youth sports field in town. We're looking forward to seeing the kids playing on them next year. Thank you to our team and guests who help make our communities better and support these local initiatives that make Casey's here for good.

我們的團隊也在我們所服務的社區，例如肯塔基州的道森斯普林斯，因為社區繼續從去年毀滅性的龍捲風和風暴中恢復過來。我們與 Gatorade 聯手，提供了 100,000 美元用於重建鎮上當地的青少年運動場。我們期待著明年看到孩子們在他們身上玩耍。感謝我們的團隊和客人，他們幫助我們的社區變得更好，並支持這些讓 Casey 永遠留在這裡的當地舉措。

Now let's discuss the results from the quarter. As you've seen in the press release, we had an excellent third quarter, further building on a strong first half of the fiscal year. Diluted earnings per share finished at $2.67 per share, up 56% increase from the prior year. As we communicated previously, diluted EPS benefited by $0.31 per share due to a one-time operating expense reduction of approximately $15 million from the resolution of a legal matter. Excluding this adjustment, diluted earnings per share was still an impressive -- up an impressive 38%.

現在讓我們討論本季度的結果。正如您在新聞稿中看到的那樣，我們在本財年上半年的強勁表現的基礎上，第三季度表現出色。每股攤薄收益為每股 2.67 美元，比上年增長 56%。正如我們之前所傳達的那樣，由於解決了一項法律問題，一次性運營費用減少了約 1500 萬美元，稀釋後的每股收益增加了 0.31 美元。排除這一調整，每股攤薄收益仍然令人印象深刻——增長了 38%。

Inside sales remained strong, driving inside gross profit up over 11% to $451 million. The company generated $100 million of net income, an increase of 56%, and $220 million in EBITDA, an increase of 28% from the prior year. We know our differentiated business model can succeed in a variety of economic conditions.

內部銷售依然強勁，推動內部毛利增長超過 11% 至 4.51 億美元。公司實現淨收入 1 億美元，同比增長 56%，EBITDA 為 2.2 億美元，同比增長 28%。我們知道我們差異化的商業模式可以在各種經濟條件下取得成功。

We continue to effectively implement our strategic plan across Grocery and General Merchandise, Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage and Fuel with excellent execution and outcomes from store operations. I'd now like to go over our results and share some of the details in each of the categories.

我們繼續有效地實施我們在雜貨和一般商品、預製食品和分配飲料和燃料方面的戰略計劃，並以出色的執行力和商店運營的成果。我現在想回顧一下我們的結果並分享每個類別的一些細節。

Inside same-store sales were up 5.6% for the third quarter or 13.6% on a 2-year stack basis with an average margin of 40.6%. Our team did a wonderful job managing the product mix and in-stock levels as well as implementing the joint business plans we developed with our vendor partners. We saw notably strong performance in pizza slices and bakery as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

第三季度內部同店銷售額增長 5.6%，按 2 年累計計算增長 13.6%，平均利潤率為 40.6%。我們的團隊在管理產品組合和庫存水平以及實施我們與供應商合作夥伴制定的聯合業務計劃方面做得非常出色。我們在比薩餅和麵包店以及酒精和非酒精飲料方面看到了顯著的強勁表現。

Same-store Grocery and General Merchandise sales were up 5.8% or 13.9% on a 2-year stack basis with an average margin of 34%, an increase of approximately 200 basis points from the prior year. The third quarter showed positive momentum UH alcoholic beverage sales as we continue to see great results by leveraging our approximately 1,500 stores with liquor licenses. We also saw strong performance in non-alcoholic beverage and private label sales. Margin was favorably impacted by a product mix shift towards higher-margin items like energy drinks and candy as well as further penetration from private label.

同店雜貨和日用商品銷售額在 2 年疊加基礎上增長 5.8% 或 13.9%，平均利潤率為 34%，比上年增長約 200 個基點。第三季度顯示出 UH 酒精飲料銷售的積極勢頭，因為我們通過利用我們大約 1,500 家擁有酒牌的商店繼續取得了不錯的成績。我們還看到了非酒精飲料和自有品牌銷售的強勁表現。產品組合轉向能量飲料和糖果等利潤率較高的產品，以及自有品牌的進一步滲透，對利潤率產生了有利影響。

Same-store Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage sales were up 5% or 12.8% on a 2-year stack basis with an average margin of 57.3% versus 58% a year ago. Sales were up due to strong performance in pizza slices as well as bakery, and we continue to have better product availability throughout the category. The third quarter had sequential improvement in margin versus the first and second quarters, but cheese costs continued to pressure profit margins.

同店預製食品和配製飲料銷售額在 2 年疊加基礎上增長了 5% 或 12.8%，平均利潤率為 57.3%，而一年前為 58%。由於披薩片和麵包店的強勁表現，銷售額有所上升，我們繼續在整個類別中提供更好的產品可用性。與第一季度和第二季度相比，第三季度的利潤率環比有所改善，但奶酪成本繼續對利潤率構成壓力。

For Fuel, same-store gallons sold decreased 0.5% with a fuel margin of $0.407 per gallon. While we did see gallons go back slightly, we should note that in yet another volatile quarter for fuel, we compared favorably to the relevant OPIS geographic data, and we believe we are continuing to take share while balancing volume and margin to drive gross profit dollars.

對於燃料，同店銷售的加侖數下降了 0.5%，燃料利潤為每加侖 0.407 美元。雖然我們確實看到加侖略有回落，但我們應該注意到，在又一個燃料波動的季度，我們與相關的 OPIS 地理數據進行了比較，我們相信我們將繼續佔據市場份額，同時平衡銷量和利潤以推動毛利潤美元.

I'd now like to turn the call over to Steve to discuss the financial results from the third quarter. Steve?

我現在想把電話轉給史蒂夫，討論第三季度的財務業績。史蒂夫？

Thank you, Darren, and good morning. I'd like to start with crediting our fuel, merchandise and store teams for their continued ability to execute on the plan and drive strong performance across all facets of our business. Each of the 3 areas of the business performed well in the quarter, and our model has proved to be resilient in this challenging environment.

謝謝你，達倫，早上好。我想首先感謝我們的燃料、商品和商店團隊，感謝他們持續執行計劃的能力，並在我們業務的各個方面推動強勁的業績。該業務的 3 個領域中的每一個領域在本季度都表現良好，事實證明，我們的模式在這個充滿挑戰的環境中具有彈性。

Total revenue for the quarter was $3.3 billion, an increase of $284 million or 9% from the prior year. Total inside sales for the quarter were $1.1 billion, an increase of $84 million or 8% from the prior year. For the quarter, Grocery and General Merchandise sales increased by $63 million to $796 million, an increase of 8.6%. Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage sales rose by $21 million to $314 million, an increase of 7%. Results were favorably impacted by operating approximately 2% more stores on a year-over-year basis.

本季度總收入為 33 億美元，比上年增加 2.84 億美元或 9%。本季度內部銷售額總額為 11 億美元，比上年增加 8400 萬美元或 8%。本季度，雜貨和日用商品的銷售額增長了 6300 萬美元，達到 7.96 億美元，增幅為 8.6%。預製食品和調配飲料銷售額增長 2100 萬美元，達到 3.14 億美元，增幅為 7%。經營門店同比增長約 2%，對業績產生了有利影響。

Retail fuel sales were up $206 million in the second quarter due to a 3.7% increase in gallons sold to 645 million as well as a 6% increase in the average retail price per gallon. That average retail price of fuel during this period for us was $3.34 a gallon compared to $3.14 a year ago. We define gross profit as revenue less cost of goods sold, but excluding depreciation and amortization.

第二季度零售燃料銷售額增長 2.06 億美元，原因是銷售的加侖數增加 3.7% 至 6.45 億加侖，以及每加侖平均零售價上漲 6%。在此期間，我們的平均燃油零售價為每加侖 3.34 美元，而一年前為 3.14 美元。我們將毛利定義為收入減去銷售成本，但不包括折舊和攤銷。

Casey's had gross profit of $737 million in the third quarter, an increase of $73 million or 11% from the prior year. This is driven by higher inside gross profit of $46.7 million or 11.6% as well as an increase of $24.7 million or 10.4% in fuel gross profit. Inside gross profit margin was 40.6%, a 120 basis point increase from a year ago.

Casey's 第三季度的毛利潤為 7.37 億美元，比上年增長 7300 萬美元或 11%。這是由於內部毛利增加 4670 萬美元或 11.6%，以及燃料毛利增加 2470 萬美元或 10.4%。內部毛利率為40.6%，同比增長120個基點。

The Grocery and General Merchandise margin was 34%, an increase of 200 basis points from prior year. We saw continued margin expansion in alcohol, grocery and packaged beverage as the merchandising team has done an excellent job of lining up our offering with our guests' wants and needs.

雜貨和日用商品的利潤率為 34%，比上年增長 200 個基點。我們看到酒類、雜貨和包裝飲料的利潤率持續增長，因為銷售團隊在將我們的產品與客人的需求聯繫起來方面做得非常出色。

In addition to the favorable mix shift, the margin was aided by an approximately -- by approximately 75 basis points from a combination of a smaller year-over-year LIFO charge as well as the achievement of higher-than-expected calendar year vendor rebates.

除了有利的組合轉變外，利潤率還得益於後進先出費用同比減少以及高於預期的日曆年供應商回扣的結合，大約增加了約 75 個基點.

Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage margin was 57.3%, down 70 basis points from the prior year, but sequentially improving versus the first and second quarters. Consistent with the entire fiscal year, the category margin was negatively impacted by commodity costs, specifically cheese, which was $2.30 per pound for the quarter compared to $1.99 per pound last year, an increase of nearly 16%. And this negatively impacted the Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage margin by approximately 100 basis points. Excluding the impact of cheese inflation, we would have outperformed margin from the prior year as our actions to balance protecting our margins, while delivering a strong value proposition for our guests, continue to make a difference for both.

預製食品和配製飲料利潤率為 57.3%，較上年下降 70 個基點，但與第一季度和第二季度相比有所改善。與整個財政年度一致，類別利潤率受到商品成本的負面影響，特別是奶酪，本季度為每磅 2.30 美元，而去年為每磅 1.99 美元，增長近 16%。這對預製食品和配製飲料的利潤率產生了大約 100 個基點的負面影響。排除奶酪通貨膨脹的影響，我們的利潤率將超過上一年，因為我們在保護利潤率和為客人提供強大價值主張之間取得平衡的行動繼續對雙方產生影響。

Fuel margin for the quarter was $0.407 per gallon. That's up $0.024 per gallon from the prior year. And fuel gross profit benefited by $2.9 million from the sale of RINs.

本季度的燃料利潤為每加侖 0.407 美元。這比上一年每加侖上漲 0.024 美元。燃料總利潤從 RIN 的銷售中受益 290 萬美元。

Total operating expenses were up 5% or $25 million in the third quarter. There was the onetime operating expense reduction of approximately $15 million that Darren mentioned, and that was disclosed in our recent business update.

第三季度總運營費用增長了 5% 或 2500 萬美元。達倫提到的一次性運營費用減少了大約 1500 萬美元，這在我們最近的業務更新中有所披露。

Excluding this reduction, total operating expense would have increased by approximately 8%. Over 2% of the total operating expense increase is due to unit growth as we operated 41 more stores than the prior year.

排除這一減少，總運營費用將增加約 8%。總營業費用增長的 2% 以上是由於單位增長，因為我們比上一年多經營了 41 家商店。

Same-store operating expenses, excluding credit card fees, rose 4.6%. Same-store employee expenses were up by only 1%, benefiting from a 1% reduction in same-store labor hours. Our store operations team continues to do outstanding work operating our stores more efficiently without compromising the experience of our guests.

不包括信用卡費用的同店營業費用增長 4.6%。同店員工費用僅增長 1%，這得益於同店工時減少 1%。我們的商店運營團隊繼續出色地工作，在不影響客人體驗的情況下更有效地運營我們的商店。

Approximately 2% of the same-store increase is related to nonemployee operating expenses, with repair and maintenance and utilities being the largest contributors. Insurance expense accounted for another 1% of the same-store increase, driven primarily by higher general liability and health insurance costs. Depreciation in the quarter was up only modestly.

大約 2% 的同店增長與非員工運營費用有關，其中維修和保養以及公用事業費用是最大的貢獻者。保險費用占同店增長的另外 1%，主要受一般責任險和健康保險成本增加的推動。本季度的折舊率僅小幅上升。

Net interest expense was $11.7 million in the quarter, down $2.7 million versus the prior year, and that's aided by rising interest rates on our cash balances. As a reminder, only 17% of our debt is floating rate.

本季度的淨利息支出為 1,170 萬美元，比去年同期減少 270 萬美元，這得益於我們現金餘額利率上升。提醒一下，我們只有 17% 的債務是浮動利率的。

The effective tax rate for the quarter was 24.1% compared to 23.4% in the prior year. The increase was driven by a onetime benefit in the prior year to update the state deferred tax rate following the acquisition of the Pilot stores.

本季度的有效稅率為 24.1%，而去年同期為 23.4%。這一增長是由於前一年的一次性收益在收購試點商店後更新了州遞延稅率。

Net income was up versus the prior year to $100.1 million, an increase of 56%. EBITDA for the quarter was $221.7 million compared to $173.5 million a year ago, an increase of 28%. Each of these measures benefited from the onetime $15.3 million operating expense reduction.

淨收入與上年相比增長了 56%，達到 1.001 億美元。本季度的 EBITDA 為 2.217 億美元，而去年同期為 1.735 億美元，增長 28%。這些措施中的每一項都得益於一次性減少了 1530 萬美元的運營費用。

Our balance sheet remains in excellent condition. On January 31, cash and cash equivalents were $413 million. And we have remaining capacity of $463 million on our lines of credit, giving us ample available liquidity of $876 million. Furthermore, we have no significant maturities coming due until fiscal 2026.

我們的資產負債表狀況良好。 1 月 31 日，現金和現金等價物為 4.13 億美元。我們的信貸額度還有 4.63 億美元的剩餘能力，為我們提供了 8.76 億美元的充足可用流動資金。此外，我們在 2026 財年之前沒有重大到期日。

Our leverage ratio, calculated in accordance with our senior notes, is now 1.8x, which is generally in line with our preferred longer-term target of 2.0x. Our balance sheet has plenty of capacity to make sound strategic in EBITDA and ROIC accretive investments that present themselves, and we will remain opportunistic in doing so.

根據我們的優先票據計算，我們的槓桿比率現在為 1.8 倍，這與我們首選的長期目標 2.0 倍基本一致。我們的資產負債表有足夠的能力在出現的 EBITDA 和 ROIC 增值投資中製定合理的戰略，我們將在這樣做時保持機會主義。

For the quarter, net cash generated by operating activities of $150 million, less purchases of property and equipment of $123 million, resulted in the company generating $27 million in free cash flow. This compares to a use of $24 million in the prior year. And as a reminder, the third quarter is a seasonally low quarter for the company in terms of free cash flow generation.

本季度，經營活動產生的淨現金為 1.5 億美元，減去 1.23 億美元的財產和設備採購，使公司產生了 2700 萬美元的自由現金流。相比之下，上一年使用了 2400 萬美元。提醒一下，就自由現金流的產生而言，第三季度是公司的季節性低谷。

At the most recent Board meeting, the Board of Directors voted to maintain the dividend at $0.38 per share. We will continue to remain balanced in our capital allocation going forward. We're going to remain opportunistic related to our $400 million share repurchase authorization, though again, we did not purchase any shares this quarter.

在最近的董事會會議上，董事會投票決定將股息維持在每股 0.38 美元。我們將繼續在未來的資本配置中保持平衡。我們將繼續與我們的 4 億美元股票回購授權相關的機會主義，儘管我們本季度沒有購買任何股票。

The company is modifying its fiscal 2023 outlook based on our performance through the first 3 quarters and our experience so far in the fourth quarter. The company now expects same-store inside sales to increase approximately 6% to 7% versus our prior guidance of increasing 5% to 7%. The company also now expects same-store fuel gallons to be down 1% to up 1% versus our prior guidance of flat to up 2%.

公司正在根據前三個季度的業績和第四季度迄今為止的經驗修改其 2023 財年展望。該公司現在預計同店內部銷售額將增長約 6% 至 7%，而我們之前的預期為增長 5% 至 7%。該公司現在還預計同店燃油加侖數將下降 1% 至上升 1%，而我們之前的指引持平至上升 2%。

We are not updating our outlook on the following annual metrics. Inside margin is still expected to be approximately 40%. The total operating expense increase, excluding the onetime benefit received this quarter, is expected to be near the low end of up approximately 9% to 10%. Based on our construction schedule and our signed purchase agreements, the company continues to expect to add approximately 80 stores in fiscal 2023 and expects to exceed our stated 3-year commitment of 345 units added.

我們不會更新對以下年度指標的展望。內部利潤率預計仍約為 40%。不包括本季度收到的一次性福利，總運營費用增長預計將接近增長約 9% 至 10% 的低端。根據我們的建設進度和簽署的採購協議，公司繼續預計在 2023 財年新增約 80 家門店，並有望超過我們承諾的 3 年新增 345 家門店的承諾。

Interest expense is expected to be approximately $55 million. Depreciation and amortization is expected to be approximately $320 million. And the purchase of property, plant and equipment is expected to be approximately $450 million to $500 million, and that will include approximately $135 million in onetime store remodeling costs for the recently acquired stores. The tax rate is expected to be approximately 24% to 25% for the year.

利息支出預計約為 5500 萬美元。折舊和攤銷預計約為 3.2 億美元。物業、廠房和設備的採購預計約為 4.5 億美元至 5 億美元，其中將包括約 1.35 億美元的近期收購商店的一次性商店改造費用。預計全年稅率約為24%至25%。

I would note that capital spending on store openings and remodels are clearly back-end weighted versus our initial expectations due to ongoing construction delays, supply chain challenge and especially local licensing inspection timelines.

我要指出的是，由於持續的施工延誤、供應鏈挑戰，尤其是當地許可檢查時間表，開店和改造的資本支出顯然是後端加權的，而不是我們最初的預期。

As for our February results and our expectations for the current quarter, inside same-store sales and fuel same-store gallons are both consistent with levels that will deliver our annual expectations for these metrics. Fuel CPGs in February were in the mid-30s. Fourth quarter total operating expenses are still expected to be near the low end of our annual guidance.

至於我們 2 月份的業績和我們對本季度的預期，同店銷售額和同店燃油加侖數都符合我們對這些指標的年度預期水平。 2 月份的 Fuel CPG 價格在 30 年代中期。預計第四季度總運營費用仍將接近我們年度指導的低端。

And with that, I'd turn the call back over to Darren.

有了這個，我會把電話轉回給達倫。

All right. Thanks, Steve. I would like again to say thank you and congratulations to the entire Casey's team for delivering another great quarter. During the first 3 quarters of the year, our merchandising team has driven business inside the store by optimizing assortment and value prices, especially our private label program. The store operations team is doing an excellent job efficiently managing operating expenses, while executing on initiatives such as store simplification as we reduced same-store labor hours by 1%.

好的。謝謝，史蒂夫。我想再次對 Casey 的整個團隊表示感謝和祝賀，他們又創造了一個偉大的季度。今年前 3 個季度，我們的銷售團隊通過優化分類和價值價格，特別是我們的自有品牌計劃，推動了店內業務。商店運營團隊在有效管理運營費用方面做得非常出色，同時執行商店簡化等舉措，因為我們將同店工時減少了 1%。

We've had sequential growth in Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage margin in every quarter in fiscal 2023 as we continue to manage both commodity and other costs prudently while holding a relevant value proposition for guests. We continue to lean into our Prepared Food and have a number of different innovative food products that are now at Casey's.

我們在 2023 財年每個季度的預製食品和配製飲料利潤率都實現了連續增長，因為我們繼續審慎地管理商品和其他成本，同時為客人持有相關的價值主張。我們繼續專注於我們的預製食品，現在 Casey's 有許多不同的創新食品。

In the third quarter, we launched a refreshed chicken wing offering as well as introduce Bacon Mac and Cheese. And we are launching a PEPPERONI, PEPPERONI, PEPPERONI pizza just in time for the NCAA tournaments, while securing NIL deals with 3 college basketball standouts in our footprint. All of these new offerings, coupled with our existing guest favorites, strengthen our best-in-class prepared Food Offerings. Add a robust assortment of Grocery and General Merchandise products, and Casey's is a one-stop shop for any occasion.

第三季度，我們推出了更新的雞翅產品，並推出了培根通心粉和奶酪。我們正在推出 PEPPERONI、PEPPERONI、PEPPERONI 披薩，正好趕上 NCAA 錦標賽，同時確保 NIL 與我們足跡中的 3 名大學籃球傑出人物達成交易。所有這些新產品，加上我們現有的客人最愛，加強了我們一流的預製食品。添加種類繁多的雜貨和日用商品，Casey's 是適合任何場合的一站式商店。

Our business development team has stayed busy evaluating potential deals, both large and small, and will remain diligent with respect to valuation. Our two-pronged approach to growth allows us to remain flexible. Our balance sheet is strong, which puts us in a position of strength when the right opportunity presents itself. This is especially true as the cost to operate, maintain and grow is challenging for the industry in the current macroeconomic landscape.

我們的業務開發團隊一直忙於評估潛在交易，無論大小，並將在估值方面保持勤奮。我們的雙管齊下的增長方式使我們能夠保持靈活性。我們的資產負債表強勁，這使我們在合適的機會出現時處於有利地位。尤其是在當前宏觀經濟形勢下，運營、維護和發展的成本對該行業來說具有挑戰性。

Casey's has historically been resilient in recessionary times as the business model allows for our guests to find quality and value conveniently.

Casey's 在經濟衰退時期一直保持彈性，因為商業模式讓我們的客人能夠方便地找到質量和價值。

Our integration team has done an excellent job executing on the Buchanan Energy acquisition, and we now have kitchens at substantially all Bucky's locations where we plan on adding kitchens.

我們的整合團隊在執行 Buchanan Energy 收購方面做得非常出色，現在我們計劃在 Bucky's 幾乎所有我們計劃增加廚房的地點都有廚房。

One of the pillars of our strategic plan was to reinvent the guest experience. As part of those initiatives, we've been surveying our guests to try to evaluate satisfaction with guest satisfaction scores increasing throughout the fiscal year. The third quarter results show that we can operate stores more efficiently without sacrificing a quality guest experience. In fact, we've reached the highest scores in guest satisfaction since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

我們戰略計劃的支柱之一是重塑賓客體驗。作為這些舉措的一部分，我們一直在對客人進行調查，以嘗試評估整個財政年度客人滿意度得分不斷提高的滿意度。第三季度的結果表明，我們可以在不犧牲優質顧客體驗的情況下更有效地經營商店。事實上，自 COVID-19 大流行爆發以來，我們的客人滿意度已經達到最高分。

As the industry continues to trend towards a more frictionless environment, we started piloting self-checkout in select stores. The ability to add even more convenient checkout options for our guests, while allowing guests to continue to earn Casey's Rewards, is another promising addition to our ability to better serve our guests and communities.

隨著行業繼續朝著更加無摩擦的環境發展，我們開始在部分商店試行自助結賬。為我們的客人添加更方便的結賬選項的能力，同時允許客人繼續獲得 Casey 的獎勵，是我們更好地為客人和社區服務的能力的另一個有希望的補充。

Our digital team's hard work continues to pay off as we surpassed 6.1 million rewards members as of January 31. Digital revenue is growing rapidly, up 12% versus the prior year and 25% on a 2-year stack basis. Our guests are taking advantage of our ability to deliver grocery and general merchandise products as delivery is over-indexed versus other digital grocery and general merchandise transaction types, such as pickup. We continued growth on the mobile side as mobile app orders now represent 69% of all digital orders.

截至 1 月 31 日，我們的獎勵會員超過 610 萬，我們的數字團隊的辛勤工作繼續得到回報。數字收入增長迅速，比上一年增長 12%，按 2 年堆棧計算增長 25%。我們的客人正在利用我們提供雜貨和一般商品產品的能力，因為與其他數字雜貨和一般商品交易類型（例如取貨）相比，交付指數過高。我們在移動端繼續增長，因為移動應用程序訂單現在佔所有數字訂單的 69%。

As we look ahead to the final quarter of fiscal 2023 and beyond, I'm excited for the outlook of the business, with capabilities and talent to execute Casey's business model in the face of uncertain times and challenging economic environments. We have ample flexibility due to the strength of our balance sheet that allows us to act on attractive growth opportunities when they arise. As we close fiscal 2023 and look forward to the next 3-year strategic plan, we're excited about the hand we're holding.

展望 2023 財年最後一個季度及以後，我對業務前景感到興奮，我有能力和人才在不確定的時期和充滿挑戰的經濟環境下執行 Casey 的業務模式。由於我們資產負債表的實力，我們擁有足夠的靈活性，這使我們能夠在有吸引力的增長機會出現時採取行動。當我們結束 2023 財年並期待下一個 3 年戰略計劃時，我們對我們所握的手感到興奮。

We will now take your questions.

我們現在將回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Patrice Kanada with Goldman Sachs.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自高盛的 Patrice Kanada。

It's actually Bonnie Herzog from Goldman. And I had a question about your fuel margins. I was hoping you could talk about how the margins have trended monthly over the quarter? And. Then any color on February and very early March trends would be helpful. There's just such a big debate about margins and the sustainability of your fuel margins in the industries for that matter. So just curious to maybe understand where you guys are seeing breakeven margins for the marginal player. Are they possibly moving lower?

它實際上是來自高盛的邦妮赫爾佐格。我有一個關於你的燃料利潤的問題。我希望你能談談利潤率在本季度的月度趨勢如何？和。那麼 2 月和 3 月初趨勢的任何顏色都會有所幫助。就此而言，關於利潤率和燃料利潤率在行業中的可持續性存在如此大的爭論。所以很想知道你們在哪裡看到邊緣玩家的盈虧平衡利潤率。他們可能走低嗎？

Bonnie, this is Darren. Yes, I'll take that one. As we look through the quarter, this past quarter, we actually saw a lot of volatility on the cost side, which translate into some volatility on the margin side. I guess the cadence through the quarter, we saw costs drop about $0.60 a gallon in November, which resulted in really strong margins. December rebounded and went up about $0.22. And so margins started to moderate a little bit and then December -- or January, rather, went up another $0.10, and so margins got a little bit squeezed in the month of January to around $0.30 a gallon. So overall, we landed at $0.40, but there's a little bit of a rocky ride to get there.

邦妮，這是達倫。是的，我會拿那個。當我們回顧這個季度時，在過去的這個季度，我們實際上看到了成本方面的大量波動，這轉化為利潤方面的一些波動。我猜整個季度的節奏，我們看到 11 月份的成本下降了每加侖 0.60 美元左右，這導致了非常強勁的利潤率。 12 月反彈並上漲約 0.22 美元。因此，利潤率開始有所下降，然後 12 月——或者說 1 月，更確切地說，又上漲了 0.10 美元，因此 1 月份的利潤率受到了一些擠壓，達到每加侖 0.30 美元左右。總的來說，我們以 0.40 美元的價格著陸，但要到達那裡還有一些困難。

What we're seeing now, rolled through February, was about mid-$0.30s per gallon. So that's about where the run rate had been prior to a lot of the volatility with the war in Ukraine and that sort of thing. So we kind of think that's a little bit more representing a baseline of where margins go. And then again, as we've looked at the marginal operator that has higher breakeven, we expect that margins will continue to gradually expand over time as the cost pressures continue to fall on that operator. But that's about the cadence that we've seen so far.

我們現在看到的情況，從 2 月份開始，大約是每加侖 0.30 美元左右。所以這就是在烏克蘭戰爭和諸如此類的事情發生大量波動之前的運行率。所以我們有點認為這更能代表利潤率的基線。再一次，當我們研究盈虧平衡點較高的邊際運營商時，我們預計隨著成本壓力繼續落在該運營商身上，利潤率將隨著時間的推移而逐漸擴大。但這就是我們到目前為止所看到的節奏。

Okay. That's super helpful. And just maybe a quick follow-up, if I may. Just I was curious about your store builds, and you touched on this that it's going to ramp pretty aggressively in Q4, just to hit your full year guidance. But I just have maybe more of a strategic question on how you're thinking about store belts and wondering why you could have ramped your new store builds, just much more aggressively or maybe even M&A for that matter to take advantage of the really the white space opportunities you've highlighted?

好的。這非常有幫助。如果可以的話，也許只是一個快速的跟進。我只是對你的商店建設感到好奇，你談到了這一點，它會在第四季度非常積極地增長，只是為了達到你的全年指導。但我只是有一個可能更多的戰略問題，關於你如何考慮商店腰帶，想知道為什麼你可以增加你的新商店建設，只是更積極地或者甚至可能就此進行併購以利用真正的白色您強調的空間機會？

Yes, sure. We certainly have the balance sheet ability to ramp up in either direction. And really, we like to have the optionality to adapt to what the playing field is getting us.

是的，當然。我們當然有能力在任何一個方向上增加資產負債表。真的，我們喜歡有選擇權來適應競爭環境給我們帶來的東西。

And what I'd tell you right now is that in this current environment, we're seeing a lot of potential acquisition activity. Our business development team is really busy talking to a lot of folks. And as we mentioned with our current year, we have a number of smaller deals under agreement right now that will close before the end of the fiscal year. So we're very confident we'll get to the number for this year. But really, we'll go either way.

我現在要告訴你的是，在當前環境下，我們看到了很多潛在的收購活動。我們的業務開發團隊正忙於與很多人交談。正如我們在本年度提到的那樣，我們現在有許多較小的交易正在達成協議，這些交易將在本財政年度結束前完成。所以我們非常有信心我們會達到今年的數字。但實際上，我們會選擇任何一種方式。

And frankly, right now, the environment is probably leaning a little bit more favorably towards M&A at the moment. And so we're looking at a number of deals. But we're also going to remain disciplined with respect to the valuation and what we pay for those deals. So we need to let that process play out.

坦率地說，目前的環境可能更傾向於併購。因此，我們正在研究一些交易。但我們也將在估值和我們為這些交易支付的費用方面保持紀律。所以我們需要讓這個過程發揮作用。

But what I'd also tell you about is that we have not, in any way, pull our real estate team to slow down on finding new sites. And so we'll keep that optionality. If the M&A deals don't come to fruition, then we'll just lean heavier on organic growth to accelerate that store development.

但我還要告訴你的是，我們沒有以任何方式讓我們的房地產團隊放慢尋找新地點的速度。因此，我們將保留這種可選性。如果併購交易沒有實現，那麼我們將更加依賴有機增長來加速商店的發展。

Our next question comes from Karen Short with Credit Suisse.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的 Karen Short。

Good to talk to you. I wanted to just ask 2 questions. So one, with respect to your implied guidance, and I realized there is a wide range of guidance, but your 4Q implied expense operating expense, and this is excluding D&A and excluding credit card fees, kind seems to be up around 9.4% versus gross profit dollars in store. And again, that's excluding gas, up 13%. So I want to just talk about that relationship. But also want to just talk separately about what your comments were on OpEx in general with respect to in-store hours.

很高興和你交談。我只想問兩個問題。所以，關於你的隱含指導，我意識到指導範圍很廣，但你的第 4 季度隱含費用運營費用，這不包括 D&A 和不包括信用卡費用，與總額相比似乎增長了 9.4% 左右在商店的利潤美元。同樣，這不包括天然氣，增長了 13%。所以我只想談談這種關係。但也想單獨談談您對店內營業時間對 OpEx 的總體評論。

A lot of retailers so far have been talking about wage pressures. And I mean almost -- if I have to average it out, there's about an 8-plus percent increase in wages across the board for many retailers that have reported. So I just want to parse that out a little bit. I'm wondering if you could talk about if you're maybe cutting a little bit too deep into the meat, I guess, with respect to store labors.

到目前為止，許多零售商一直在談論工資壓力。我的意思是幾乎——如果我必須把它平均起來，對於許多報告的零售商來說，工資全面增長了大約 8% 以上。所以我只想稍微分析一下。我想知道你是否可以談談你是不是切得太深了，我想，關於商店勞動力。

Karen, this is Steve. It's good to hear from you again. I'll take the first one, and then I'll let Darren address the second one. Related to the fourth quarter guide specifically on OpEx. Maybe just a reminder for our fourth quarter, we will do a variety of year-end adjustments on OpEx of things like incentive compensation true-ups, et cetera. And so given the company's continued strong performance this year, I think we are certainly going to have incentive compensation above what we would have planned when we started the year. And that would -- that's going to happen kind of irrespective of whatever the trajectory may be within the business.

凱倫，這是史蒂夫。很高興再次收到你的來信。我先講第一個，然後讓 Darren 解決第二個問題。與專門針對 OpEx 的第四季度指南相關。也許只是對我們第四季度的提醒，我們將對 OpEx 進行各種年終調整，例如激勵薪酬調整等。因此，鑑於公司今年的持續強勁表現，我認為我們的激勵薪酬肯定會高於年初時的計劃。那將會 - 無論業務軌跡如何，這都會發生。

And then, I think, if you're comparing it to just kind of the cadence of gross profit, the gross profit cadence certainly is heavily influenced by what is the fuel CPG at any point in time. And so as we sit here right now in the mid-30s, that's obviously going to give you a different fourth quarter gross profit year-over-year.....

然後，我認為，如果你將它與毛利潤的節奏進行比較，毛利潤節奏肯定會在任何時間點受到燃料 CPG 的嚴重影響。因此，當我們現在坐在 30 年代中期時，這顯然會給你帶來不同的第四季度毛利潤同比......

Well, sorry, I was asking that excluding fuel, in for only.

好吧，抱歉，我問的是不包括燃料，只是為了。

Okay. Yes, okay. Then I would still tell you that we're -- with the year-end true-ups we have, and then we're also going to start lapping on the inside of the store, a lot of the price increases that we've taken over the course of the last year, especially in the Prepared Food category. We've taken 3 different price increases over the last 12 months, and most of those will lap for us during the fourth quarter.

好的。是的，好的。然後我仍然會告訴你我們 - 我們有年終調整，然後我們也將開始在商店內部打磨，我們已經提高了很多價格接管了去年的課程，尤其是在預製食品類別中。在過去的 12 個月裡，我們已經進行了 3 次不同的價格上漲，其中大部分將在第四季度為我們收尾。

Okay. And then the store hours and labor question?

好的。然後是營業時間和人工問題？

Yes. Karen, this is Darren. Nice to talk to you again. Welcome back. Yes, so with respect to the hours, I'll just -- I'll tell you a little bit about how we're getting to the hour -- or decreases rather. And this started really at the end of last year when we we're looking at our OpEx performance and really getting into the root causes of that. And a lot of that, really from a root cause perspective, was driven by turnover in our stores. And we started digging into the turnover and start getting into our engagement scores.

是的。凱倫，這是達倫。很高興再次和你交談。歡迎回來。是的，所以關於時間，我只是 - 我會告訴你一些關於我們如何到達時間 - 或減少的時間。這真的是在去年年底開始的，當時我們正在研究我們的 OpEx 性能並真正了解其根本原因。從根本原因的角度來看，其中很多是由我們商店的營業額驅動的。我們開始深入研究營業額並開始了解我們的參與度分數。

Our engagement was a little bit off. And so we've really made a concerted effort around team member engagement. And a lot of that had to do with simply removing complexity from the store, meaning we've added a lot of new capabilities into our stores from a Merchandising and Prepared Food perspective over the last couple of years. We really didn't take anything away.

我們的訂婚有點偏離。因此，我們確實在團隊成員參與方面做出了共同努力。其中很多與簡單地消除商店的複雜性有關，這意味著我們在過去幾年中從商品銷售和預製食品的角度為我們的商店添加了許多新功能。我們真的沒有帶走任何東西。

And our team members were telling us the job was just getting too hard. And so we've stood up a continuous improvement team, and their sole focus is identifying processes where we have bottlenecks or opportunities where we can remove complexity and remove hours out of the store without impacting the guest experience.

我們的團隊成員告訴我們，這份工作變得太難了。因此，我們成立了一個持續改進團隊，他們的唯一重點是確定我們存在瓶頸或機會的流程，我們可以在這些流程中消除複雜性並減少商店外的時間，而不會影響客戶體驗。

And we've done and implemented a number of those initiatives over the course of the year. And what we've ended up with is removing hours from the store, reducing that turnover, which in turn is reduced overtime and training hours.

在這一年裡，我們已經完成並實施了一些這樣的舉措。我們最終的結果是減少了商店的營業時間，減少了營業額，這反過來又減少了加班和培訓時間。

In fact, in the third quarter, we were down 31% in overtime and about 20% in training hours just because we have reduced turnover. All of that's working in concert. And then, lo and behold, our guest satisfaction scores are the highest they've been since the beginning of the pandemic. So everything is working as it should. So we don't think we're cutting deeply. In fact, we think we're cutting smart, and we're eliminating the non-value-added hours and it's showing up in guest satisfaction as well. So we feel really good about that and really good about the sustainability of it because we're doing it the right way.

事實上，在第三季度，我們的加班時間減少了 31%，培訓時間減少了約 20%，這僅僅是因為我們減少了人員流動。所有這些都在協同工作。然後，你瞧，我們的客人滿意度得分是自大流行開始以來的最高分。所以一切都在按預期進行。所以我們認為我們沒有深入削減。事實上，我們認為我們削減得很聰明，我們正在消除非增值時間，這也體現在客人滿意度上。因此，我們對此感覺非常好，並且對它的可持續性非常滿意，因為我們正在以正確的方式進行。

Our next question comes from Anthony Bonadio with Wells Fargo.

我們的下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Anthony Bonadio。

I just wanted to ask about grocery margins. Obviously, a very strong result there. You talked about mixed tailwinds and then your efforts in private label supportive. But can you dig in a little more on what drove that, the composition of noncontrollables and controllables? And then we're now running well ahead of pre-COVID levels. Obviously, you've done a lot strategically over the last few years, but can you talk about how sustainable you think these levels are?

我只是想問一下雜貨店的利潤。顯然，那裡的結果非常好。你談到了混合順風，然後是你在自有品牌支持方面的努力。但是，您能否更深入地了解是什麼推動了這一點，即不可控因素和可控因素的構成？然後我們現在的運行速度遠遠超過了 COVID 之前的水平。顯然，在過去的幾年裡，你在戰略上做了很多，但你能談談你認為這些水平的可持續性嗎？

Yes, Anthony, this is Darren. I'll take the first crack at that. Yes, with respect to the margin on Grocery and General Merch, there's a fair amount of that they had to do with mix shift. And so I'll kind of walk you through that a little bit, but we had a couple of different categories that had some favorable mix shift and then some margin expansion within those categories.

是的，安東尼，這是達倫。我會採取第一個裂縫。是的，關於 Grocery 和 General Merch 的利潤，他們在很大程度上與混合轉移有關。因此，我會稍微向您介紹一下，但我們有幾個不同的類別，它們有一些有利的組合轉變，然後在這些類別中有一些利潤率擴張。

The first thing I'd point out is that in the tobacco category, and we put cigarettes and all the smokeless and vaping and everything else into that category. We saw a little bit of a falloff in mix from that category, about 170 basis points lower mix than it had been the prior year. And that's obviously a lower margin category. So that accrues to the benefit of the overall category when that mix goes lower.

我要指出的第一件事是在煙草類別中，我們將香煙和所有無菸和電子煙以及其他所有東西都歸入該類別。我們看到該類別的組合略有下降，比前一年低約 170 個基點。這顯然是一個利潤率較低的類別。因此，當該組合變低時，這對整個類別都有好處。

So where did that mix go? It went to alcohol, alcohol increase; and in particular, went to non-alcoholic beverages, which carries the highest margin rate. In fact, in non-alcoholic beverages, the margin rate in that category is about double what it is in tobacco. So when that mix shifted up 90 basis points. So when you take all those moving parts back and forth, the mix was favorably impacted.

那麼這些混合物去了哪裡？它去喝酒，酒量增加；特別是非酒精飲料，它的利潤率最高。事實上，在非酒精飲料中，該類別的利潤率大約是煙草的兩倍。因此，當該組合向上移動 90 個基點時。因此，當您來回移動所有這些移動部件時，混音會受到有利影響。

The second piece was in non-alcoholic beverages. The actual margin rate was up about 110 basis points within the category. And that's just really a function of a lot of good work that the merchandising team has done in concert with our vendor partners to come up with joint business plans that had allowed us to accelerate growth and at the same time, expand margin.

第二件是非酒精飲料。該類別的實際保證金率上升了約 110 個基點。這實際上是銷售團隊與我們的供應商合作夥伴共同完成的許多出色工作的結果，以製定聯合業務計劃，使我們能夠加速增長，同時擴大利潤率。

I'd say the same thing on the grocery part of that where it's about 130 basis point improvement in margin year-over-year really due to the same thing. So all of that was what led the Grocery and General Merchandise. I'd say because those trends and plans are sustainable, I would expect that the margin improvement is sustainable as well.

我會在雜貨店部分說同樣的話，由於同樣的事情，它的利潤率同比提高了大約 130 個基點。因此，所有這些都是導致雜貨和日用商品的原因。我會說因為這些趨勢和計劃是可持續的，我希望利潤率的提高也是可持續的。

Got it. That's helpful. And then quickly on RINs. I know you guys talked about a $7 million headwind year-over-year in the quarter. Can you just talk about how that flows through to earnings? It's obviously easy to do the math on if it flows through outright, but I believe some of that ends up getting priced into what you buy from the refiners, so maybe comes through as higher retail margins. So just any thoughts on that dynamic would be helpful.

知道了。這很有幫助。然後快速使用 RIN。我知道你們在本季度談到了 700 萬美元的逆風。你能談談它是如何影響收益的嗎？如果它直接流過，顯然很容易計算出來，但我相信其中一些最終會被計入你從煉油廠購買的產品中，因此可能會帶來更高的零售利潤率。因此，關於這種動態的任何想法都會有所幫助。

Anthony, this is Steve. I'll take a shot at that. So we are -- we did sell or monetize fewer RINs in the third quarter this year than the third quarter last year. So that was less of a positive impact on CPG for us on a year-over-year basis.

安東尼，這是史蒂夫。我會嘗試一下。所以我們 - 我們在今年第三季度銷售或貨幣化的 RIN 數量確實少於去年第三季度。因此，與去年同期相比，這對我們的 CPG 的積極影響較小。

We do not recognize any value associated with RINs until we actually physically transfer them out of the company, and that's really a timing issue. The generation of the RIN in the first place is more of a byproduct of how we buy fuel at any particular point in time.

在我們實際將 RIN 實際轉移出公司之前，我們不承認與 RIN 相關的任何價值，這確實是一個時間問題。首先，RIN 的產生更多是我們在任何特定時間點購買燃料的方式的副產品。

And we don't have a point of view on how we should generate RINs. We're agnostic on RIN generation. We task our fuel team with go, go acquire the lowest cost fuel you can. And we generate RINs when we splash blend at a terminal, and we're mixing ethanol with clear fuel. Sometimes, we buy it pre-blended. And so our view is that the net cost of the RIN is already going to be baked into the cost of the fuel.

我們對應該如何生成 RIN 沒有自己的看法。我們對 RIN 的生成不可知。我們給我們的燃料團隊下達任務，去獲取盡可能低的成本燃料。當我們在終端噴灑混合物時，我們會生成 RIN，我們將乙醇與透明燃料混合。有時，我們會購買預混合的。因此我們的觀點是，RIN 的淨成本已經計入燃料成本。

Now when we do have the RINs, we do have a point of view on what's the value of a RIN in the market, and we do exercise some discretion on how we choose or when we choose to transfer those. And so the year-over-year delta is a function of agnostic generation and timing on when we chose to transfer them this year versus last year.

現在，當我們確實擁有 RIN 時，我們確實對 RIN 在市場上的價值有自己的看法，並且我們確實會自行決定如何選擇或何時選擇轉讓這些 RIN。因此，同比增量是不可知的一代和我們選擇今年與去年轉移它們的時間的函數。

Our next question comes from Bobby Griffin with Raymond James.

我們的下一個問題來自 Bobby Griffin 和 Raymond James。

Congrats on a very good quarter. I guess first, Darren.

祝賀一個非常好的季度。我想首先，達倫。

Thanks, Bobby.

謝謝，鮑比。

The fuel team has done a lot of nice work over the last couple of years inside contract buying as well as pricing. Is there any other initiatives that the team is working on that could benefit the underlying margins, excluding the volatility of the industry over the next couple of years?

在過去的幾年中，燃料團隊在合同購買和定價方面做了很多出色的工作。除了未來幾年行業的波動之外，該團隊是否還有其他舉措可以提高潛在利潤率？

Yes, Bobby. As you know, we've been on a journey for the last few years and standing up different capabilities. And really the last step in that process that we're going to begin working on this next fiscal year is procuring fuel further upstream in the process of buying at the refinery gate and shipping pipelines into terminals. That's a capability that we needed to grow into. And we stood up the systems the technology solutions last year to enable that. And now that those are stabilized, our team is looking forward to doing that. So we do believe that that's an incremental opportunity to add some more margin and security of supply. So that will be work that's ongoing throughout the next fiscal year.

是的，鮑比。如您所知，過去幾年我們一直在征程，並建立了不同的能力。實際上，我們將在下一個財政年度開始工作的該過程的最後一步是在煉油廠大門購買和將管道運送到碼頭的過程中進一步上游採購燃料。這是我們需要成長的能力。我們去年建立了系統技術解決方案來實現這一點。現在這些已經穩定下來，我們的團隊期待著這樣做。因此，我們確實相信這是增加更多利潤和供應安全的增量機會。因此，這將是整個下一個財政年度正在進行的工作。

Okay. And then, I guess, secondly for me, just on the Grocery and Prepared Food. Can you give us any color, I guess, on how units have trended? I understand there's some pricing flowing through on both sides of that business. Just any detail on the unit share and kind of what's been going on there.

好的。然後，我想，其次對我來說，只是關於雜貨和預製食品。我猜你能告訴我們單位趨勢如何嗎？我知道該業務的雙方都有一些定價。關於單位份額的任何細節以及那裡發生的事情。

Yes, Bobby. We've had a little bit of softness -- as I was going to make a broad statement, I'd say we have had a little bit of softness on units, not significant and not concerning, but a little bit of softness. Now that being said, within subcategories, it bounces around a bit. So we've really had some strength in our alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, energy drinks in particular, a lot of good movement in candy and snacks.

是的，鮑比。我們有一點軟弱——因為我要發表一個廣泛的聲明，我想說我們在單位方面有一點軟弱，不重要也不關心，但有一點軟弱。話雖這麼說，但在子類別中，它有點反彈。因此，我們在酒精和非酒精飲料方面確實有一些優勢，尤其是能量飲料，在糖果和零食方面也有很多良好的發展。

Pizza slices, donuts, have all had positive units. And then it's been offset by some other categories that have seen a little bit of softness. But that tends to be par for the course in any sort of times where different categories are performing differently. So again, a little bit of softness, but nothing that's overly concerning at this point.

披薩片、甜甜圈都有正單位。然後它被其他一些略有疲軟的類別所抵消。但在不同類別表現不同的任何時代，這往往是意料之中的。所以，再一次，有點柔軟，但在這一點上沒有什麼過分擔心的。

Our next question comes from Irene Nattel with RBC.

我們的下一個問題來自 RBC 的 Irene Nattel。

Just sticking with the whole question around mix in Grocery. You said you saw tobacco fall off. Was that a temporary element that just sort of impacted Q3? Or is that something that you're seeing continuing? And is that something we should be anticipating as we look ahead to F '24?

只是堅持關於雜貨店混合的整個問題。你說你看到煙草掉下來了。這是一個臨時因素，只是影響了第三季度嗎？還是您看到的事情仍在繼續？當我們展望 F '24 時，這是我們應該期待的事情嗎？

Yes, Irene, the tobacco mix shift is something -- it's really been ongoing for a while. It wasn't anything really dramatic in the quarter. And I think it's important to recognize that the tobacco manufacturers, this is part of their strategy actually is to reduce the velocity of combustible cigarettes and shift people over to other smokeless options, like vaping or smokeless tobacco. So this is sort of a natural occurrence.

是的，艾琳，煙草混合轉變確實已經持續了一段時間。這在本季度並沒有什麼真正的戲劇性。我認為重要的是要認識到煙草製造商，這是他們戰略的一部分，實際上是降低可燃香煙的速度，讓人們轉向其他無菸選擇，比如電子煙或無菸煙草。所以這是一種自然現象。

But at the same time, our merchandising team has really done a nice job of accelerating the growth in the nontobacco categories, specifically in alcohol and in non-alcoholic beverages. So as we accelerate the growth in those, that mix starts to shift a bit on its own. And that's been happening over the last couple of years.

但與此同時，我們的銷售團隊在加速非煙草品類的增長方面確實做得很好，特別是在酒精和非酒精飲料方面。因此，隨著我們加速這些方面的增長，這種組合開始自行發生一些變化。這在過去幾年一直在發生。

So I don't anticipate that really changing that dynamic changing, because we'll continue to lean into those other nontobacco categories. And then the tobacco category itself is in somewhat of a secular decline. So we'd expect that mix shift to happen.

所以我預計不會真正改變這種動態變化，因為我們將繼續傾向於其他非煙草類別。然後煙草類別本身在某種程度上處於長期衰退之中。因此，我們預計會發生這種混合轉變。

That's great. So all of that should continue to support stronger margins. If I can just switch topics for a second to M&A and notably, valuations. What are you seeing at this point in time in terms of seller expectations, both sort of the smaller operator level and for some of the larger networks?

那太棒了。因此，所有這些都應該繼續支持更高的利潤率。如果我可以暫時將話題切換到併購，尤其是估值。您目前對賣家的期望有何看法，無論是較小的運營商級別還是某些較大的網絡？

We're taking a look at a lot of different deals, and I'd say there's a variety of expectations. I think in some cases, there are some sellers that are sitting on historically high fuel margins that would love to be able to sell at that rate.

我們正在研究很多不同的交易，我想說有各種各樣的期望。我認為在某些情況下，有些賣家的燃油利潤率處於歷史高位，他們希望能夠以這樣的價格出售。

We don't necessarily believe that those margins, at the most recent year, are reflective of what the long-term trend is going to be. And so we're having those ongoing discussions.

我們不一定認為最近一年的這些利潤率反映了長期趨勢。因此，我們正在進行這些持續的討論。

But I think the -- if I step back a minute and look at the environment overall, it's an interesting dynamic because we have sellers that obviously are trying to maximize value, but we also have really high interest rates. So there's fewer participants in the processes, I think, than maybe otherwise would have been because of that. So we're in the midst of a lot of different discussions. So I've yet to see how this is all going to play out, but that's what we're seeing at this point.

但我認為 - 如果我退後一步，看看整體環境，這是一個有趣的動態，因為我們的賣家顯然正在努力實現價值最大化，但我們的利率也非常高。因此，我認為流程中的參與者比其他情況下的參與者要少。所以我們正在進行很多不同的討論。所以我還沒有看到這一切將如何發揮作用，但這就是我們目前所看到的。

Our next question comes from Chuck Cerankosky with Northcoast Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Northcoast Research 的 Chuck Cerankosky。

Great quarter. When you're looking at the grocery category and the merchandise inflation trends over the rest of the year, I know you've negotiated with the vendors, how do you feel about further inflation taking place over the course of the year? And how does that work into your shelf pricing and assortment mix?

偉大的季度。當您查看今年餘下時間的雜貨類別和商品通脹趨勢時，我知道您已經與供應商進行了談判，您對今年進一步的通脹有何看法？這如何影響您的貨架定價和分類組合？

Yes, Chuck, this is Darren. Yes, you're correct. We typically negotiate those agreements in advance of the beginning of the calendar year. So most of that is fairly locked. And what we saw this year is a little bit of moderation in the cost increases versus where we were in the prior year. And where there were cost increases is a little more targeted to certain subcategories from the supplier as opposed to across-the-board increases.

是的，查克，這是達倫。是的，你是對的。我們通常會在日曆年開始之前就這些協議進行談判。所以大部分都是相當鎖定的。我們今年看到的是，與去年相比，成本增長有所放緩。成本增加的地方更多是針對供應商的某些子類別，而不是全面增加。

So while we're still experiencing inflation, and in that category, about 8% inflation, it has moderated a bit from what we were experiencing the year before. So we make those price adjustments as needed. And again, we're trying to maintain the balance between having a relative value for our guests and, at the same time, protecting the margin. And so I think the team has done a nice job balancing that.

因此，雖然我們仍在經歷通貨膨脹，在這一類別中，通貨膨脹率約為 8%，但與我們前一年的經歷相比有所緩和。因此，我們會根據需要進行價格調整。再一次，我們試圖在為客人提供相對價值和保護利潤之間保持平衡。所以我認為團隊在平衡這一點上做得很好。

You saw the results in the most recent quarter where we've been able to have strong sales results, but at the same time, blend up the margin from a mix perspective to get the margin at a really strong rate. So we think we're striking that right balance right now, and we'll continue to do that.

你在最近一個季度看到了我們能夠取得強勁銷售業績的結果，但與此同時，從混合角度混合利潤率，以非常強勁的速度獲得利潤率。所以我們認為我們現在正在取得正確的平衡，我們將繼續這樣做。

And Darren, so 8% is the average cost increase for calendar '23?

達倫，那麼 8% 是 23 年日曆的平均成本增長？

No, that would be for fiscal year.

不，那將是財政年度。

Fiscal year, okay.

財政年度，好的。

Yes.

是的。

All right. Well, let me say, let me ask, and how did that compare to fiscal '22?

好的。好吧，讓我說，讓我問一下，這與 22 財年相比如何？

I don't know, Steve, do you have...

我不知道，史蒂夫，你有沒有...

It's a little bit -- it was -- we had higher inflation in fiscal '23 than we did in fiscal '22, right? Just if you think of the lags and the timing. The timing that we negotiate on a calendar basis, we certainly have incurred more consistent and higher levels of inflation this fiscal year than we did in the prior fiscal year.

有點——過去是——我們在 23 財年的通貨膨脹率高於 22 財年，對吧？只要你想到滯後和時機。我們在日曆基礎上談判的時間，我們本財年的通貨膨脹率肯定比上一財年更穩定、更高。

Our next question comes from Ben Bienvenu with Stephens.

我們的下一個問題來自 Ben Bienvenu 和 Stephens。

This is Jack Hardin subbing in for Ben Bienvenu. Congratulations on a strong quarter. But I just wanted to ask about pizza for starters. What are you seeing in your pizza business demand? And how insulated or exposed do you think your business is from increased promotional activity in the category?

這是 Jack Hardin 代替 Ben Bienvenu。祝賀一個強勁的季度。但我只是想問一下披薩的開胃菜。您在比薩餅業務需求中看到了什麼？您認為您的業務與該類別中增加的促銷活動的隔離或暴露程度如何？

Yes, Jack, this is Darren. Our pizza business has performed pretty well. We had strong volume in the third quarter in slices, both in sales and in units. On the whole pies, we're still keeping positive sales. The units have softened a bit, but not -- again, not at a concerning level, just a little bit softness. And I actually would characterize that a little bit more from a -- as a timing issue in terms of innovation that's launched. And so we're starting to see that velocity recover here more recently with the launch of our PEPPERONI, PEPPERONI, PEPPERONI pizza.

是的，傑克，這是達倫。我們的披薩業務表現不錯。我們在第三季度的切片銷量和單位銷量都很強勁。總的來說，我們仍然保持著積極的銷售。這些單位已經軟化了一點，但不是 - 再一次，沒有達到令人擔憂的水平，只是有點軟化。實際上，我會將其更多地描述為 - 就推出的創新而言，這是一個時間問題。因此，隨著我們的 PEPPERONI、PEPPERONI、PEPPERONI 披薩的推出，我們最近開始看到速度在這裡恢復。

That being said, from a promotional standpoint, we are seeing increased activity from our major pizza competitors, mostly around the medium-sized pizza at a -- which they can get at a lower price point. So we're keeping an eye on that. We haven't seen a material impact to our business at this point. So we're not necessarily ready to jump into that fray. But we continue to monitor, and we'll react accordingly if we need to.

話雖這麼說，從促銷的角度來看，我們看到我們的主要披薩競爭對手的活動有所增加，主要是圍繞中型披薩——他們可以以較低的價格買到。所以我們正在關注這一點。目前我們還沒有看到對我們業務的實質性影響。所以我們不一定準備好加入這場爭論。但我們會繼續監控，如果需要，我們會做出相應的反應。

Okay. Great. Very helpful. And then on the fuel side of things, your fuel balance have softened a bit, and I was just wondering if you could talk about the key factors driving that change.

好的。偉大的。很有幫助。然後在燃料方面，你的燃料平衡有所緩和，我只是想知道你是否可以談談推動這種變化的關鍵因素。

Well, fuel has been a dance for a while now with volume. And so I think we've been able to maintain our strategy, which is to maximize gross profit dollars, and that's a balance of driving gallons and driving margin. And so what we've seen in most quarters is that we've been hovering right around that flat level, sometimes a little bit below, sometimes a little bit above flat fuel gallons.

好吧，燃料已經有一段時間了。所以我認為我們已經能夠維持我們的戰略，即最大化毛利潤美元，這是駕駛加侖和駕駛利潤率的平衡。因此，我們在大多數季度看到的是，我們一直徘徊在該水平附近，有時略低於，有時略高於固定燃料加侖數。

What we're seeing in the industry in our specific geography is gallons are down anywhere from 4% to 6%. And so when we take a look at our business and we're down 0.5% in a down-6% environment, we feel pretty good about the position we're holding relative to everybody else and that we're actually taking share as a result of that.

我們在特定地理位置的行業中看到的是加侖下降了 4% 到 6%。因此，當我們審視我們的業務時，當我們在下降 6% 的環境中下降 0.5% 時，我們對我們相對於其他所有人所持的地位感覺非常好，並且我們實際上正在將份額作為結果。

Our next question comes from Krisztina Katai with Deutsche Bank.

我們的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Krisztina Katai。

Congratulations on very nice results. I wanted to circle back to the strength that we saw at the Grocery segment, coming in at 34% looks the strongest, at least since 2010. So as private label penetration increases there, are you seeing that vendors are more open to taking less pricing maybe as their units could be coming under pressure? And does that essentially help with your joint vendor planning process as it relates to getting great margin in that segment going forward?

祝賀你取得了非常好的結果。我想回到我們在雜貨領域看到的實力，34% 看起來是最強的，至少自 2010 年以來是這樣。因此，隨著自有品牌滲透率的增加，您是否看到供應商更願意接受更低的價格也許是因為他們的單位可能會承受壓力？這是否對您的聯合供應商計劃流程有實質性幫助，因為它與未來在該細分市場中獲得巨大利潤有關？

Yes, Krisztina, it does change the conversation a bit with some of our supplier partners when we have the private label products. And in some cases, it's a matter of sharpening the pencil on cost of goods. In other cases, we've been able to prove some different pricing strategies that we've implemented on the private label side that causes them to rethink some of their pricing strategies with us on their brands and their products.

是的，Krisztina，當我們擁有自有品牌產品時，它確實改變了與我們的一些供應商合作夥伴的對話。在某些情況下，這是關於商品成本的問題。在其他情況下，我們已經能夠證明我們在自有品牌方面實施的一些不同的定價策略，導致他們與我們一起重新考慮他們在他們的品牌和產品上的一些定價策略。

And so we've been able to have those discussions and in some cases, create different plans from a joint business planning perspective to take advantage of those learnings and to maximize the overall category. Because ultimately, that's the goal, is to grow all boats, not one at the expense of the other. And so I think our merchandising team and our supplier partners have worked together really well to make that happen.

因此，我們能夠進行這些討論，並在某些情況下，從聯合業務規劃的角度製定不同的計劃，以利用這些經驗教訓並最大化整體類別。因為最終的目標是發展所有船隻，而不是以犧牲其他船隻為代價。因此，我認為我們的銷售團隊和我們的供應商合作夥伴合作得非常好，以實現這一目標。

Great. And I have a follow-up question just around capital allocation. You do have a lot of cash on the balance sheet and is well above what we've seen from you, guys, at least from a historical perspective. So how do you think about the strong cash flow generation of your business in the context of organic unit growth, pursuing M&A opportunities and potentially buying back shares opportunistically?

偉大的。我還有一個關於資本配置的後續問題。你們的資產負債表上確實有很多現金，而且遠遠高於我們從你們那裡看到的，伙計們，至少從歷史的角度來看是這樣。那麼，在有機單位增長、尋求併購機會和可能機會主義地回購股票的背景下，您如何看待您的企業產生的強勁現金流？

Krisztina, this is Steve. I'll address that. We do have a lot of cash on the balance sheet relative to what we've had historically. We are certainly aware of that, for sure. We think about it a lot in terms of the best way to allocate that capital. I think in the very near term, the reality is because our capital spending this year and the closing of the small deal M&A that we've talked about, both of those items are heavily back-end loaded, right? We're going to have a very busy April realistically in terms of opening and buying stores.

克里斯蒂娜，這是史蒂夫。我會解決這個問題。相對於歷史上的情況，我們的資產負債表上確實有很多現金。我們肯定知道這一點。我們在分配資金的最佳方式方面考慮了很多。我認為在短期內，現實是因為我們今年的資本支出和我們談到的小額併購交易的結束，這兩項都是後端負載很大，對吧？實際上，就開設和購買商店而言，我們將在 4 月非常忙碌。

It seemed the most prudent for us to hold that cash over the course of the year because we knew we were going to have uses for it. But as the cash flow generation potential of the company continues to grow in an environment where we don't have any leverage concerns of significance, and we really don't need to pay off debt, we will go back to where we start, which is the best use of capital dollar, number one for us, we believe, is investing in something that's EBITDA and ROIC accretive in terms of growth.

對我們來說，在一年中持有這些現金似乎是最謹慎的做法，因為我們知道我們會用到它。但隨著公司的現金流產生潛力在我們沒有任何重大槓桿問題的環境中繼續增長，我們真的不需要償還債務，我們將回到我們開始的地方，這是資本美元的最佳用途，我們認為，對我們來說，第一是投資於 EBITDA 和 ROIC 增長方面的增長。

And so we'll continue to lean into those new units, and we are very respectful and thoughtful around making sure our dividend growth continues at pace with what it has been historically and then the earnings profile of the company.

因此，我們將繼續關注這些新部門，我們將非常尊重和深思熟慮，以確保我們的股息增長繼續與歷史和公司的盈利狀況保持同步。

But there is a point in time where there is excess cash beyond the near-term growth needs of the company, and the leverage and the dividend uses and clearly, share repurchase comes into the floor at that point in time. So we haven't been there in the last couple of quarters. Obviously, we have an authorization that we're very aware of. And so I think we will continue to remain quite aware of that. But in the short term, we know we're going to be spending some of that cash to finish the things we've already committed to doing.

但有一個時間點，公司的短期增長需求之外有多餘的現金，槓桿和股息的使用，顯然，股票回購在那個時間點進入底線。所以我們在過去幾個季度沒有去過那裡。顯然，我們有一個我們非常清楚的授權。因此，我認為我們將繼續對此保持清醒的認識。但在短期內，我們知道我們將花費部分現金來完成我們已經承諾要做的事情。

Our last question comes from John Lawrence with Benchmark.

我們的最後一個問題來自 Benchmark 的 John Lawrence。

Darren, would you talk a little bit about private label? What your best customers, the loyalty members, what are you seeing in that basket now? Is that journey in private label continues? Is it the drinks? Is it -- what are you seeing private label more often in that basket? And is there any type of a shift as we have gone through the year?

達倫，你能談談自有品牌嗎？你最好的客戶，忠誠會員，你現在在那個籃子裡看到了什麼？自有品牌的旅程還在繼續嗎？是飲料嗎？是——你在那個籃子裡更頻繁地看到自有品牌是什麼？我們經歷了這一年，是否有任何類型的轉變？

Yes, John. In terms of the basket itself, I think private label runs the same sort of cycle from a seasonality standpoint that the rest of the store does. And so in the third quarter, what you see is less beverages, because the weather is cold outside and it shifts more to the snacks and candy and that sort of thing. And then as we get more into the summer, you'll start to see the acceleration of the beverages in the beverage category.

是的，約翰。就購物籃本身而言，我認為從季節性的角度來看，自有品牌與商店的其他部分運行的周期相同。所以在第三季度，你看到的是更少的飲料，因為外面的天氣很冷，更多的是零食和糖果之類的東西。然後隨著我們進入夏季，您將開始看到飲料類別中飲料的加速增長。

That being said, some of the mix in the basket has accelerated in the candy category due to some recent introductions of candy products. And I'll tell you that this is a great example of why private label is still important. We saw in the candy category that a lot of the national brands were really passing on some aggressive cost increases to all retailers and starting to put some pressure on unit velocity. And it was something like we had not seen before. And so that really gave us confidence to go into the candy bar category, which historically has been a really difficult category to penetrate because of the brand strength of the national manufacturers.

話雖這麼說，由於最近推出了一些糖果產品，籃子中的一些組合在糖果類別中加速了。我會告訴你，這是一個很好的例子，說明為什麼自有品牌仍然很重要。我們在糖果類別中看到，許多民族品牌確實將一些激進的成本增加轉嫁給了所有零售商，並開始對單位速度施加一些壓力。這是我們以前從未見過的。因此，這確實給了我們進入直板類別的信心，由於國內製造商的品牌實力，該類別在歷史上一直是一個非常難以滲透的類別。

And we have introduced a line of candy bars that have actually become some of the top-selling items in the category because of the value price and because of the quality of the product. And so we continue to look at that and continue to look at expanding that. But that's something that's the mix has kind of shifted in a way we originally hadn't anticipated because of the aggressive cost increases from the national manufacturer. So that gives our guests a great quality product at a value price and allows us to continue to grow the category.

我們還推出了一系列棒棒糖，由於物超所值的價格和產品質量，這些棒棒糖實際上已成為該類別中的一些最暢銷商品。因此，我們繼續研究並繼續擴大它。但由於國家製造商大幅增加成本，這種組合已經以我們最初沒有預料到的方式發生了變化。因此，這為我們的客人提供了物超所值的優質產品，並使我們能夠繼續發展這一類別。

Our next question comes from John Royall with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 John Royall。

I realized we're at the end, so I'll just try to squeeze one in. So just a follow-up on the M&A side. I know you've gotten a lot of questions on it today. But you talked about the environment being constructive today, and it seems like you have plenty of liquidity to execute on a larger scale deal. Is there any thought that there might be another Buchanan out there? Or do you consider having done a deal of that scale kind of more of a one-off that wouldn't be repeated?

我意識到我們已經走到了盡頭，所以我會試著擠進一個。所以只是在併購方面的後續行動。我知道你今天收到了很多關於它的問題。但是你談到今天的環境是建設性的，而且你似乎有足夠的流動性來執行更大規模的交易。有沒有人認為那裡可能還有另一個布坎南？還是您認為完成這種規模的交易更像是一次不會重複的交易？

No, John. We certainly look at larger deals of that scale or even bigger. Our issue isn't around the size of the deal. I think our balance sheet speaks for itself. We have plenty of balance sheet strength. And frankly, from a capability standpoint, now that we've integrated 3 larger acquisitions, we have a team that has a rhythm and has a process and understands how to do this. We have more confidence in our ability to integrate successfully a larger acquisition.

不，約翰。我們當然會考慮這種規模甚至更大的更大交易。我們的問題不在於交易的規模。我認為我們的資產負債表不言自明。我們擁有充足的資產負債表實力。坦率地說，從能力的角度來看，現在我們已經整合了 3 項較大的收購，我們擁有一支有節奏、有流程並了解如何做到這一點的團隊。我們對成功整合更大規模收購的能力更有信心。

It's really -- from our perspective, it's really more about finding the right deal that's strategic for us, that's in the right geography, that's at the right valuation. And so we continue to work on those opportunities. But we're looking at all types of deals, large and small.

這真的 - 從我們的角度來看，它實際上更多的是找到對我們具有戰略意義的正確交易，在正確的地理位置，正確的估值。因此，我們繼續致力於這些機會。但我們正在研究所有類型的交易，無論大小。

I show no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the conference back to Darren for closing remarks.

我現在沒有進一步的問題。我現在想把會議轉回 Darren 作閉幕詞。

All right. Thanks for taking the time today and joining us on the call. As we finish our final fiscal quarter and 3-year strategic plan, I just want to thank our team members again for all their hard work and commitment to Casey's and the communities we serve every day. Thank you.

好的。感謝您今天抽出時間加入我們的電話會議。在我們完成最後一個財政季度和 3 年戰略計劃時，我只想再次感謝我們的團隊成員的辛勤工作和對 Casey's 以及我們每天服務的社區的承諾。謝謝。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。