Caseys General Stores Inc (CASY) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Fourth Quarter Full Year 2023 Casey's General Stores Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

早上好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加凱西百貨 2023 年第四季度全年盈利電話會議。 （操作員說明）

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, Investor Relations & Business Development. Please go ahead.

請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。現在，我想將會議交給今天的演講者、投資者關係和業務開發高級副總裁布萊恩·約翰遜 (Brian Johnson)。請繼續。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us to discuss the results from our fourth quarter and fiscal year ended April 30, 2023. I am Brian Johnson, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations & Business Development. With me today are Darren Rebelez, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Steve Bramlage, Chief Financial Officer. 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.

早上好，感謝您與我們一起討論截至 2023 年 4 月 30 日的第四季度和財年的業績。我是布萊恩·約翰遜，投資者關係和業務開發高級副總裁。今天與我在一起的有總裁兼首席執行官 Darren Rebelez；和首席財務官史蒂夫·布拉姆拉奇(Steve Bramlage)。在我們開始之前，我要提醒您，我們在本次投資者電話會議中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。

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. 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.

這些前瞻性陳述包括與未來時期的預期、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表現。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這些前瞻性陳述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實現利益的能力、烏克蘭衝突的影響和持續時間以及相關政府行動以及其他風險、不確定性和因素，這些都在我們最近的年度報告中進行了描述向 SEC 提交並可在我們的網站上獲取的 10-K 表和 10-Q 表的季度報告。

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 fourth quarter can be found on our website at www.caseys.com under the Investor Relations link.

本次電話會議期間做出的任何前瞻性陳述均反映了我們截至今天對未來事件的當前看法，凱西不承擔任何更新或修改前瞻性陳述的意圖或義務，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公認會計原則與公認會計原則財務指標的調節表以及第四季度運營費用增長的詳細細目可以在我們的網站 www.caseys.com 的投資者關係鏈接下找到。

With that said, I would now like to turn the call over to Darren to discuss our fourth quarter and fiscal year results. Darren?

話雖如此，我現在想將電話轉給達倫，討論我們第四季度和財年的業績。達倫？

Thanks, Brian, and good morning, everyone. We're looking forward to sharing our results in a moment. So I would like to start by thanking our 43,000 Casey's team members for their tireless efforts and contribution to a record fiscal year. As I reflect on 3-year strategic plan that we set out in January of 2020, I'm extremely proud of what we've been able to accomplish. Casey's is at the heart of the communities we serve. Our teams give their all and this shows in the positive guest feedback we receive, the delicious food we make, and the impact we have on our communities.

謝謝布萊恩，大家早上好。我們期待著稍後分享我們的成果。首先，我要感謝 Casey 的 43,000 名團隊成員的不懈努力和為創紀錄的財政年度做出的貢獻。當我回顧我們在 2020 年 1 月制定的三年戰略計劃時，我對我們所取得的成就感到非常自豪。凱西是我們服務的社區的核心。我們的團隊竭盡全力，這體現在我們收到的積極的客人反饋、我們製作的美味食物以及我們對社區的影響。

In fiscal year '23, Casey's, along with our generous guests and committed supplier partners, enabled over $5 million of donations. These dollars provided meals, school supplies new playgrounds in equipment, disaster recovery needs and services helping veterans and their families. I'd like to offer a huge thank you to our team members, our guests and our nonprofit and supplier partners to make this all possible. We are proud to do so much good across so many communities.

在 23 財年，Casey's 與我們慷慨的客人和忠誠的供應商合作夥伴一起，捐贈了超過 500 萬美元。這些資金提供了膳食、學校用品、新操場的設備、災後恢復需求以及幫助退伍軍人及其家人的服務。我要向我們的團隊成員、客人以及我們的非營利組織和供應商合作夥伴表示衷心的感謝，是你們讓這一切成為可能。我們為能夠在如此多的社區做出如此多的善事而感到自豪。

Speaking of good, in early May, we launched an upgrade to our rewards program that's bringing more good to our 6.5 million loyal members. The enhanced Casey's Rewards experience includes a refreshed app design that makes it easier than ever for Casey's Rewards members to track their points, redeem them for rewards, and see how much money they save by shopping with Casey's Rewards. The program recently celebrated its 3-year anniversary and what guests love most about our loyalty program is the way they can choose to receive their rewards. Whether it's Casey's cash to help pay for Pizza night, for extra cents off when filling the family vehicle, members have the flexibility to decide what works best for them. We look forward to continuing to grow membership and participation.

說到好處，五月初，我們啟動了獎勵計劃升級，為我們的 650 萬忠實會員帶來更多好處。增強的 Casey's Rewards 體驗包括更新的應用程序設計，使 Casey's Rewards 會員比以往任何時候都更容易跟踪他們的積分、兌換獎勵以及查看通過 Casey's Rewards 購物節省了多少錢。該計劃最近慶祝了其三週年紀念日，客人最喜歡我們的忠誠度計劃的是他們可以選擇接收獎勵的方式。無論是用凱西的現金來支付披薩之夜的費用，還是為家庭車輛加油時的額外折扣，會員都可以靈活地決定最適合他們的方式。我們期待繼續增加會員數量和參與度。

Now let's discuss the results of the past fiscal year. Fiscal '23 was a record year for diluted EPS, finishing at $11.91 a share, up 31% increase from the prior year. The company also generated a record $447 million in net income and $952 million in EBITDA, an increase of 19% from the prior year. Inside same-store sales were up 6.5% or 13.6% on a 2-year stack basis, with strong results in both prepared food and dispensed beverage as well as grocery and general merchandise with same-store sales up 7.1% and 6.3%, respectively.

現在讓我們討論一下上一財年的業績。 23 財年稀釋後每股收益創下歷史新高，最終達到每股 11.91 美元，比上年增長 31%。該公司還創造了創紀錄的 4.47 億美元淨利潤和 9.52 億美元 EBITDA，比上年增長 19%。兩年來，同店內部銷售額增長了 6.5% 或 13.6%，其中預製食品和分配飲料以及雜貨和日用百貨均表現強勁，同店銷售額分別增長了 7.1% 和 6.3% 。

Margins were virtually flat year-over-year, a tremendous accomplishment as we manage cost increases with our merchandise partners in commodities while still holding our value proposition for our guests. We saw tremendous results across the board. Pizza slices and alcoholic beverages were very strong. We also had a lot of fun with innovative products like Busch Light beer cheese breakfast pizza that made a positive impact on sales. Fuel gross profit was up [16%], with total fuel gallons sold up 4% and fuel margin averaging $40.2 per gallon over the course of the year.

利潤率與去年同期相比幾乎持平，這是一項巨大的成就，因為我們與我們的商品合作夥伴一起管理了商品成本的增加，同時仍然堅持我們對客人的價值主張。我們看到了全面的巨大成果。披薩片和酒精飲料都很烈。我們還從創新產品中獲得了很多樂趣，例如 Busch 淡啤酒奶酪早餐披薩，這對銷售產生了積極影響。燃料毛利潤增長了 [16%]，全年燃料加侖銷售總量增長了 4%，燃料利潤率平均為每加侖 40.2 美元。

Our fuel team continues to do an excellent job maximizing gross profit dollars by balancing fuel volume and margin. The macro environment was especially favorable for fuel margins with 2 significant wholesale fuel cost declines during the year. We also had a great year in terms of managing costs. Same-store operating expenses, excluding credit card fees, were up only 2.8%, impacted favorably by a reduction of same-store labor hours of 2.3%. Guest satisfaction scores still improved, which is a testament to our store simplification and store leadership teams. They've been effective at freeing up unproductive and more expensive labor hours, which enables our team members to better serve our guests.

我們的燃料團隊通過平衡燃料量和利潤，繼續出色地實現毛利潤最大化。宏觀環境對燃料利潤特別有利，年內批發燃料成本出現兩次大幅下降。我們在成本管理方面也度過了很棒的一年。受同店工時減少 2.3% 的影響，同店運營費用（不包括信用卡費用）僅增長 2.8%。顧客滿意度得分仍然有所提高，這證明了我們商店的簡化和商店領導團隊的努力。他們有效地釋放了非生產性和更昂貴的勞動時間，使我們的團隊成員能夠更好地為客人服務。

During fiscal year, we also did a tremendous job with unit growth. We built 34 new stores and acquired 47 more, which demonstrates our ability to grow the business both organically and via M&A. We met our annual and our 3-year growth targets despite challenges with permitting as well as delays in construction materials and equipment due to supply chain disruptions. We're successfully integrating the 228 new units from fiscal 2022 and are meeting our synergy targets from those new stores.

在本財年中，我們在單位增長方面也取得了巨大的成績。我們開設了 34 家新店，並收購了 47 家新店，這表明我們有能力通過有機方式和併購來發展業務。儘管面臨許可方面的挑戰以及由於供應鏈中斷導致建築材料和設備的延誤，我們仍然實現了年度和三年的增長目標。我們成功整合了 2022 財年的 228 個新店，並實現了這些新店的協同目標。

All of this wouldn't be possible without our store development, real estate and integration teams working seamlessly to grow our store base. We're extremely confident in our ability to continue to build and buy new units. We believe consolidation will continue to occur in the industry while rising financing costs are reducing the number of potential buyers. Our private label program continues to be popular with our guests, and we ended the fiscal year above 9% penetration in the grocery and general merchandise category in both units and gross profit.

如果沒有我們的商店開發、房地產和整合團隊的無縫合作來擴大我們的商店基礎，所有這一切都是不可能實現的。我們對繼續建造和購買新設備的能力非常有信心。我們認為，行業整合將繼續發生，而融資成本上升正在減少潛在買家的數量。我們的自有品牌計劃繼續受到客人的歡迎，本財年結束時，我們在雜貨和日用百貨類別中的滲透率（無論是銷量還是毛利潤）都超過了 9%。

We currently offer over 300 SKUs of private label products, which we believe is a tremendous value proposition for our guests. These record-breaking financial results are a strong reminder that our business model is resilient in all parts of the economic cycle. And that Casey's has a unique ability to provide value and quality to our guests. I'd now like to call -- turn the call over to Steve to discuss the fourth quarter and our outlook for fiscal '24. Steve?

我們目前提供超過 300 個 SKU 的自有品牌產品，我們相信這對我們的客人來說是一個巨大的價值主張。這些破紀錄的財務業績強烈提醒我們，我們的商業模式在經濟周期的各個方面都具有彈性。 Casey's 擁有獨特的能力，能夠為我們的客人提供價值和品質。我現在想打電話給史蒂夫，討論第四季度和我們對 24 財年的展望。史蒂夫？

Thank you, Darren. Good morning. Before I jump into the financials, I'd also like to acknowledge the entire Casey's team. to bring excellent financial results for the quarter, the year and the 3-year strategic plan are significant accomplishments for the entire organization, and it would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of all of our team members. Total inside sales for the quarter rose 8.4% from the prior year to over $1.1 billion with an average margin of 39.6%. For the quarter, total grocery and general merchandise sales increased by $66 million to $810 million, which is an increase of 8.8% and total Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage sales rose by $21 million to $314 million, an increase of 7.1%.

謝謝你，達倫。早上好。在開始討論財務狀況之前，我還要感謝整個凱西團隊。能夠取得優異的季度、年度和三年戰略計劃的財務業績是整個組織的重大成就，這離不開我們所有團隊成員的辛勤工作和奉獻。本季度內部銷售總額較上年同期增長 8.4%，超過 11 億美元，平均利潤率為 39.6%。本季度，雜貨和日用商品總銷售額增加了 6600 萬美元，達到 8.1 億美元，增長 8.8%，預製食品和配製飲料總銷售額增加 2100 萬美元，達到 3.14 億美元，增長 7.1%。

Same-store grocery and general merchandise sales were up 7.1% and the average margin was 33%, an increase of 50 basis points from the same period a year ago. Sales were particularly strong in our nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages, and we experienced a favorable mix shift in these categories as single-serve grab-and-go items outperformed. Energy drinks sold exceptionally well, driving nonalcoholic beverages up over 13% in the quarter. Ongoing private label growth also assisted this category. Same-store Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage sales were up 4.9% for the quarter.

同店雜貨和百貨商品銷售額增長 7.1%，平均利潤率為 33%，較去年同期增長 50 個基點。我們的非酒精飲料和酒精飲料的銷售尤其強勁，而且我們在這些類別中經歷了有利的組合轉變，因為單份即取飲料的表現優於其他飲料。能量飲料銷售異常火爆，推動非酒精飲料在本季度增長了 13% 以上。自有品牌的持續增長也促進了這一類別的發展。本季度同店預製食品和配製飲料銷售額增長 4.9%。

The average margin for the quarter was 56.8%, down 10 basis points from a year ago. Bakery as well as hot food performed well in the quarter. Margin was adversely affected by a higher LIFO charge than prior year, which had an impact of roughly 50 basis points. And while we did experience some cost pressure in bakery and proteins, cheese costs were down $0.06 per pound from the prior year to $2.20. This had an approximately 20 basis point benefit to margin.

本季度平均利潤率為 56.8%，較去年同期下降 10 個基點。麵包店和熱食在本季度表現良好。與上一年相比，後進先出費用較高，導致利潤率受到不利影響，影響大約 50 個基點。雖然我們在烘焙和蛋白質方面確實遇到了一些成本壓力，但奶酪成本比去年每磅下降了 0.06 美元，降至 2.20 美元。這使利潤率提高了約 20 個基點。

During the fourth quarter, same-store fuel gallons sold were flat with a fuel margin of $34.6 per gallon, down approximately $1.6 per gallon compared to the same period last year. Fuel margins varied widely in the quarter. For example, we experienced low $0.30 per gallon in both February and March, but in April, CPGs were closer to $0.40 a gallon. Our flat same-store sales outperformed our relevant OPUS geographic data by over 200 basis points. Retail fuel sales were down $207 million in the fourth quarter due primarily to an 11% decrease in the average retail price from $3.77 last year to $3.36 a gallon. This was partially offset by a 2.4% increase in total gallons sold to $636 million.

第四季度，同店燃油加侖銷量持平，燃油利潤為每加侖 34.6 美元，比去年同期下降約 1.6 美元每加侖。本季度燃料利潤率差異很大。例如，我們在 2 月和 3 月經歷了每加侖 0.30 美元的低位，但在 4 月份，CPG 接近每加侖 0.40 美元。我們的同店銷售額持平，比相關 OPUS 地理數據高出 200 個基點。第四季度零售燃料銷售額下降了 2.07 億美元，主要是由於平均零售價格從去年的每加侖 3.77 美元下降到 3.36 美元，下降了 11%。這被銷量增加 2.4% 至 6.36 億美元部分抵消。

Total operating expenses were up 6.3% or $31 million in the fourth quarter. Approximately 1.5% of the increase is due to operating 69 more stores than a year ago. Approximately 2% of the increase was related to same-store operations. Finally, approximately 1% of the change is related to an increase in the accrued costs for variable incentive compensation due to strong financial performance. Same-store employee expense was flat as the increase in employee wage rate was offset by a 3.3% reduction in same-store labor hours.

第四季度總運營支出增長 6.3%，即 3100 萬美元。大約 1.5% 的增長是由於比一年前增加了 69 家門店。大約 2% 的增長與同店運營有關。最後，大約 1% 的變化與由於強勁的財務業績而導致可變激勵薪酬的應計成本增加有關。同店員工費用持平，因為員工工資率的增長被同店工時減少 3.3% 所抵消。

The company also benefited from a $2 million reduction in credit card fees due to the lower retail prices of fuel. Depreciation in the quarter was up modestly as we put a large number of stores in service fleet in the quarter. Net interest expense was $12.8 million in the quarter, and that's down $2.5 million versus the prior year. This reduction was aided by rising interest rates on our cash balances. And as a reminder, only 15% of our debt is floating rate. The effective tax rate for the quarter was 22.7% compared to 17.8% in the prior year.

由於燃料零售價格下降，該公司還受益於信用卡費用減少了 200 萬美元。由於我們在本季度將大量商店納入服務車隊，因此本季度的折舊略有上升。本季度淨利息支出為 1,280 萬美元，比上年同期減少 250 萬美元。這一減少得益於我們現金餘額利率的上升。提醒一下，我們的債務中只有 15% 是浮動利率的。本季度的有效稅率為 22.7%，而上年同期為 17.8%。

The increase is primarily driven by a onetime benefit in the prior year from adjusting our deferred tax liabilities for a corporate rate drop that was enacted by the state of Nebraska. Net income was down slightly versus the prior year to $56.1 million, a decrease of 6% and EBITDA for the quarter was $166 million, and that's essentially flat with the prior year. During the quarter, we refinanced our credit facility with an unsecured $1.1 billion facility that includes an $850 million revolving line of credit and a $250 million term loan, each of which have a 5-year maturity.

這一增長主要是由於上一年因內布拉斯加州頒布的企業稅率下降而調整我們的遞延稅負債而獲得的一次性收益。淨利潤較上年略有下降，至 5610 萬美元，下降 6%，該季度 EBITDA 為 1.66 億美元，與上年基本持平。本季度，我們通過 11 億美元的無擔保信貸安排進行了再融資，其中包括 8.5 億美元的循環信貸額度和 2.5 億美元的定期貸款，每項貸款期限均為 5 年。

It's an excellent outcome for us in what was a challenging banking environment during the quarter, and that speaks to the quality of Casey's as a credit risk and the strength of our balance sheet. At April 30, we had $379 million in cash, cash equivalents on hand. And with the recent refinancing, we now have an additional $875 million in undrawn borrowing capacity on existing lines of credit giving us ample liquidity of $1.3 billion. Furthermore, we have no significant maturities coming due until our fiscal 2026.

在本季度充滿挑戰的銀行環境中，這對我們來說是一個極好的結果，這說明了凱西信用風險的質量和我們資產負債表的實力。截至 4 月 30 日，我們手頭有 3.79 億美元現金及現金等價物。通過最近的再融資，我們在現有信貸額度上新增了 8.75 億美元的未提取借款能力，為我們提供了 13 億美元的充足流動性。此外，在 2026 財年之前，我們沒有重大到期債務。

Our leverage ratio as calculated in accordance with our senior notes is 1.8x EBITDA, and we continue to have ample capacity to make good strategic investments as they present themselves. For the quarter, net cash generated by operating activities of $245 million, less purchases of property and equipment of $175 million, resulted in the company generating $70 million in free cash flow. We continue to see delays in the delivery of vehicles and construction times remain elongated, thus deferring some of our planned capital spend into fiscal '24.

根據我們的高級票據計算，我們的槓桿率為 1.8 倍 EBITDA，並且我們仍然有足夠的能力進行良好的戰略投資。本季度，經營活動產生的淨現金為 2.45 億美元，減去購買財產和設備的 1.75 億美元，導致公司產生 7000 萬美元的自由現金流。我們繼續看到車輛交付延遲，施工時間仍然延長，因此我們將一些計劃的資本支出推遲到 24 財年。

At the June meeting, the Board of Directors voted to increase the dividend of $0.43 per share per quarter, and that's a 13% increase, marking the 24th consecutive year that the dividend has been increased. We will continue to remain balanced in our capital allocation going forward, focusing on driving EBITDA growth with ROIC accretive investment opportunities in front of us.

在 6 月份的會議上，董事會投票決定將股息提高至每季度每股 0.43 美元，增幅為 13%，這也是股息連續第 24 年提高。未來我們將繼續保持資本配置平衡，專注於通過投資回報率增值投資機會推動 EBITDA 增長。

The company is providing the following fiscal 2024 outlook. Casey's expects the following performance during fiscal '24. We currently expect inside same-store sales to increase 3% to 5%. We expect inside margin improvement to approximately 40% to 41%. The company expects same-store fuel gallons sold to be between negative 1% to positive 1%. Total operating expenses are expected to increase approximately 5% to 7%, and that's inclusive of adding 110 stores in fiscal '24. As a reminder, this is inclusive of nonrecurring operating expense benefits from FY '23 regarding a legal settlement. Net interest expense is expected to be approximately $55 million.

該公司提供以下 2024 財年展望。 Casey's 預計 24 財年的業績如下。我們目前預計同店內部銷售額將增長 3% 至 5%。我們預計內部利潤率將改善至約 40% 至 41%。該公司預計同店燃油加侖銷量將在負 1% 至正 1% 之間。總運營費用預計將增加約 5% 至 7%，其中包括 2024 財年新增 110 家門店的費用。提醒一下，這包括 23 財年有關法律和解的非經常性運營費用收益。淨利息支出預計約為 5500 萬美元。

Depreciation and amortization is expected to be approximately $340 million and the purchase of property and equipment is expected to be approximately $500 million to $550 million. The tax rate is expected to be approximately 24% to 26% for the year. Consistent with our past practice, we're not guiding to a CPG figure, nor are we providing EPS or EBITDA. But for model calibration purposes, fuel margin in the mid-30s along with flat retail prices of fuel compared to fiscal '23 would result in a flat EBITDA year-over-year.

折舊和攤銷預計約為3.4億美元，購買財產和設備預計約為5億至5.5億美元。預計全年稅率約為24%至26%。與我們過去的做法一致，我們不提供 CPG 數據，也不提供 EPS 或 EBITDA。但出於模型校準的目的，30 多歲的燃油利潤率以及與 23 財年相比持平的燃油零售價格將導致 EBITDA 同比持平。

Our first quarter-to-date experience is as follows: inside same-store sales are consistent with achieving the midpoint of our fiscal '24 guidance; same-store gallons sold are near the low end of our fiscal '24 outlook; fuel CPG margin for May was in the low 40s. However, we're currently in the low 30s. I would now like to turn the call back over to Darren.

我們第一季度迄今為止的經驗如下：同店內部銷售額與實現我們 24 財年指導方針的中點一致；同店加侖銷量接近我們 24 財年展望的低端； 5 月份燃料 CPG 利潤率在 40 左右。然而，我們目前處於 30 歲以下。我現在想把電話轉回達倫。

Thanks, Steve. I'd like to again say thank you and congratulations to the entire Casey's team for delivering another record year. The results speak for themselves and are a reflection of the hard work of the team and their dedication to executing our 3-year strategic plan. In January of 2020, we laid out a plan to reinvent the guest experience, create capacity through efficiencies, be where the guest is, all while investing in our talent.

謝謝，史蒂夫。我想再次感謝並祝賀整個凱西團隊再創紀錄的一年。結果不言而喻，反映了團隊的辛勤工作和他們對執行我們三年戰略計劃的奉獻精神。 2020 年 1 月，我們制定了一項計劃，旨在重塑賓客體驗，通過提高效率創造能力，與賓客同在，同時投資於我們的人才。

As this plan is not ready for [renewable] I'd like to share some of our accomplishments. Our team had to navigate through a global pandemic and the effects therein, including restricted traffic, labor shortages and an inflationary environment. We adapted to the situation and thrived in it, as you can see with our results. We reinvented the guest experience in several ways, but we really shine with our Casey's Rewards program. We made a commitment to enhance our brand and drive digital engagement, and we did just that with over 6.5 million members through May of 2023. And this helped drive results as our same-store inside sales were at the high end of our guidance.

由於該計劃尚未準備好[可更新]，我想分享我們的一些成就。我們的團隊必須應對全球流行病及其影響，包括交通限制、勞動力短缺和通貨膨脹環境。我們適應了這種情況並在其中蓬勃發展，正如您從我們的結果中看到的那樣。我們通過多種方式重塑了賓客體驗，但凱西獎勵計劃確實讓我們大放異彩。我們承諾增強我們的品牌並推動數字化參與，到 2023 年 5 月，我們已經擁有超過 650 萬會員。這有助於推動業績，因為我們的同店內部銷售處於我們指導的高端。

We wanted to make sure that we create capacity to invest in the business by capturing efficiencies while we grew. The team worked exceptionally hard to make the stores work harder for us, culminating and reducing same-store labor hours in fiscal '23 by over 2%, while keeping team members engaged and guests satisfied. As shown in the financial results, too, as our operating expense CAGR of 12% was lower than our EBITDA CAGR of 14%. We also made a commitment to be where the guest is through accelerated unit growth.

我們希望確保在發展過程中提高效率，從而創造投資業務的能力。該團隊異常努力地工作，讓商店為我們更加努力地工作，最終在 23 財年將同店勞動時間減少了 2% 以上，同時保持團隊成員的參與和客人的滿意度。正如財務業績所示，我們 12% 的運營費用複合年增長率低於 14% 的 EBITDA 複合年增長率。我們還承諾通過加速單位增長來滿足客人的需求。

We came into the plan with an expectation that we would build more than we bought. But as the M&A environment changed, we were able to remain flexible with our two-pronged approach in over 70% of our new units from fiscal '21 to '23 or via acquisitions. We made a bold commitment to accelerate our growth, and we exceeded our own high standard of 345 new units, ending the 3-year period with 354 new stores. As you can see, our business has performed exceptionally well in a challenging macroeconomic environment. Casey's has shown tremendous resiliency and we're positioned especially well to deliver future value to our shareholders through our strategic plan, which is being enhanced with our commitment to technology.

我們制定這個計劃時，期望建造的數量比購買的數量還要多。但隨著併購環境的變化，我們在 21 財年至 23 財年超過 70% 的新部門中通過雙管齊下或通過收購的方式保持了靈活性。我們做出了加速增長的大膽承諾，並超越了自己設定的 345 家新店的高標準，在 3 年期間結束了 354 家新店。正如您所看到的，我們的業務在充滿挑戰的宏觀經濟環境中表現異常出色。 Casey's 表現出了巨大的彈性，我們處於特別有利的地位，可以通過我們的戰略計劃為股東創造未來價值，而我們對技術的承諾正在增強這一戰略計劃。

This was all made possible by making investments in the talent and Casey's. Our investment in a stand-alone M&A team drove record growth, centralized procurement helped keep our shelves stocked at lower cost despite supply chain challenges. Centralized fuel operations allowed us to balance fuel volume and margin, and countless other teams within the organization helped make these last 3 years, some of the most successful in the history of the company. We did all of this and generated cash flow from operations of approximately $2.5 billion, which was considerably higher than our capital expenditures of approximately $1.2 billion.

這一切都是通過對人才和凱西的投資才得以實現的。我們對獨立併購團隊的投資推動了創紀錄的增長，儘管供應鏈面臨挑戰，但集中採購有助於以較低的成本保持我們​​的貨架庫存。集中化的燃料運營使我們能夠平衡燃料量和利潤，組織內無數其他團隊幫助我們度過了過去三年，成為公司歷史上最成功的三年。我們完成了所有這些工作，並從運營中產生了約 25 億美元的現金流，這遠遠高於我們約 12 億美元的資本支出。

As we reflect on our last strategic plan and our fiscal '23 and beyond, I'm thrilled in Casey's ability to succeed in any macro economic condition. We're excited to share our next 3-year strategic plan on June 27 as we host our Investor Day in New York. We'll lay out our plans to continue to grow the business and deliver value to our shareholders.

當我們反思我們的上一個戰略計劃以及 23 財年及以後的戰略計劃時，我對凱西在任何宏觀經濟條件下取得成功的能力感到興奮。我們很高興於 6 月 27 日在紐約舉辦投資者日活動時分享我們的下一個 3 年戰略計劃。我們將製定繼續發展業務並為股東創造價值的計劃。

Finally, I'd also like to thank Board Directors, Diane Bridgewater and Lynn Horak, for their amazing contributions to the company over the last decade plus. Their guidance helps fuel Casey's growth and success during their tenures. Lynn has been an invaluable resource to me as the Board Chair, being a great mentor and adviser since I came on in the summer of 2019.

最後，我還要感謝董事會董事黛安·布里奇沃特 (Diane Bridgewater) 和林恩·霍拉克 (Lynn Horak) 在過去十多年里為公司做出的驚人貢獻。他們的指導有助於推動凱西在任職期間的成長和成功。自 2019 年夏天我上任以來，林恩一直是我作為董事會主席的寶貴資源，是一位出色的導師和顧問。

I wish Lynn and Diane all the best in their retirement from the Casey's Board in September. We'll now take your questions.

我祝愿林恩和黛安九月份從凱西董事會退休後一切順利。我們現在將回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Karen Short with Credit Suisse.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自瑞士信貸銀行的 Karen Short。

Congratulations on a good year. I just wanted to -- and also look forward to seeing you in June. I just wanted to parse out on your guidance with respect to in-store margins. Maybe you could parse out a little bit more on the Grocery side versus the Prepared Food side. Obviously, prepared food continues to be pressured. And then I guess, within the -- both of those components, talk a little bit about price increases and/or branded pass-through on grocery. And then what you're kind of thinking through on the actual prepared food commodity cost pressures? And then I have one more quick question.

祝賀您度過了美好的一年。我只是想——也期待在六月見到你。我只是想解析一下您對店內利潤的指導。也許您可以在雜貨店方面與預製食品方面進行更多分析。顯然，預製食品繼續面臨壓力。然後我想，在這兩個組成部分中，都會談論一下雜貨店的價格上漲和/或品牌傳遞。那麼您對實際預製食品商品成本壓力有何看法？然後我還有一個簡單的問題。

Yes. Karen, this is Darren. And thank you. Yes, I'll go ahead and start, and I'll let Steve fill in some of the details. Yes, we expect to see a bit of recovery in overall inside margin, and we would see that primarily in Prepared Foods. And we think that's for a couple of reasons. We're expecting the inflationary pressure that we've experienced over the last 1.5 years to settle down a bit.

是的。凱倫，這是達倫。謝謝你。是的，我會繼續開始，我會讓史蒂夫填寫一些細節。是的，我們預計整體內部利潤率會有所回升，而且主要是在預製食品領域。我們認為這有幾個原因。我們預計過去 1.5 年經歷的通脹壓力將會有所緩解。

We're currently experiencing some favorability on cheese costs as an example, which is, as you know, is a big input to our Prepared Food and Dispensed Beverage margin. So that we expect to continue to improve throughout the year. On the Grocery and General Merch side, we started to see some of that inflation subside. There are still some categories like chips and candy, where we're experiencing some inflation. But outside of that, there's been some moderation there. And so we're will still remain diligent in terms of passing on pricing that's appropriate. And on the prepared food side, we'll be a little more cautious on that effort on the commodity side because we don't want to whipsaw the guests, and we want to make sure we maintain a relative value proposition. Steve, any?

例如，我們目前對奶酪成本有一些優惠，如您所知，這是對我們的預製食品和配製飲料利潤率的重大投入。因此我們期望全年都能繼續進步。在雜貨和百貨商品方面，我們開始看到通脹有所消退。還有一些類別，如薯片和糖果，我們正在經歷一些通貨膨脹。但除此之外，還有一些節制。因此，我們仍將繼續努力傳遞適當的定價。在預製食品方面，我們會對商品方面的努力更加謹慎，因為我們不想折磨客人，並且我們希望確保保持相對價值主張。史蒂夫，有嗎？

Karen, for modeling purposes, I think I would advise that Grocery and GM to Darren's point is probably flattish margin-wise year-over-year for all of those reasons. And the preponderance of the inside improvement will come from Prepared Food. And that's both on the cheese side, we're about 43% hedged right now for our fiscal '24 requirements and at the current cheese prices, we're kind of looking, at least, for the first quarter, down about 10% or so year-over-year. So we'll get some tailwind there. We'll also be lapping some significant price increases we've had this year. For example, donut inflation this year was 40% in the Bakery category, and we'll lap that during the first part of fiscal '24. So most of the improvement mechanically is going to be Prepared Food.

凱倫，出於建模目的，我想我會建議雜貨店和通用汽車達倫的觀點是，出於所有這些原因，同比利潤率可能持平。而內部改善的主要部分將來自預製食品。這都是在奶酪方面，我們現在大約 43% 對沖了 24 財年的要求，按照目前的奶酪價格，我們預計至少在第一季度會下降約 10% 或逐年如此。所以我們會在那裡得到一些順風。我們還將應對今年的一些大幅價格上漲。例如，今年麵包店類別的甜甜圈通脹率為 40%，我們將在 24 財年的第一部分記錄這一數據。因此，機械方面的大部分改進將是預製食品。

Okay. And then my second question is, obviously, you're managing OpEx growth extremely well. One of your more rural, I guess, I would say, comparisons has had to significant number of hours to the stores from a labor perspective. And I'm wondering how you think about that in terms of where you're at in terms of being able to actually meet the guests' needs and whether or not you need to add more labor to the stores because that seems to be more of a theme even for rural operators.

好的。然後我的第二個問題是，顯然，你們對運營支出增長的管理得非常好。我想，我想說的是，從勞動力的角度來看，您的比較農村的情況必須與商店的工作時間相當長。我想知道您如何看待這個問題，即您在能夠真正滿足客人的需求方面處於什麼位置，以及您是否需要為商店增加更多勞動力，因為這似乎更多即使對於農村經營者來說也是一個主題。

Yes, Karen. I think whether you add labor or takeaway labor depends largely on where you're starting. And for us, we felt like we were always staffing our stores appropriately to meet the guests of these, and we continue to believe that. But what we were able to identify is that we had some unproductive hours in the stores, and we had some labor or activities rather than we were doing in the stores. It just didn't need to occur in the store anymore.

是的，凱倫。我認為是增加勞動力還是外賣勞動力很大程度上取決於您從哪裡開始。對於我們來說，我們覺得我們總是在為我們的商店配備適當的人員來滿足這些客人的需求，我們仍然相信這一點。但我們能夠確定的是，我們在商店裡度過了一些非生產性的時間，並且我們進行了一些勞動或活動，而不是我們在商店裡所做的事情。只是不再需要在商店裡發生了。

We could pull that activity out of the stores and move it upstream where we could do it more efficiently. And so we've been on a concerted effort over the last year to do exactly that. We've been able to reduce the number of unproductive hours as we would call it, and take those out. And in fact, our overall satisfaction scores as we measure them through a third party have actually improved while we've done that because we've not only freed up those hours and taken some of that to the bank. But we've also given some of those hours back to the store so they can focus more on the guest experience. So we feel very comfortable with where we're at now. And again, for this next fiscal year, we still have our continuous improvement team in place. We're going to continue to pursue finding more opportunities to operate our stores more efficiently.

我們可以將該活動從商店中撤出，並將其轉移到上游，以便我們可以更有效地進行。因此，我們在過去的一年裡一直在共同努力來做到這一點。我們已經能夠減少並消除所謂的非生產時間。事實上，當我們通過第三方衡量時，我們的總體滿意度得分實際上有所提高，因為我們不僅釋放了這些時間並將其中一些時間存入銀行。但我們也將其中一些時間返還給商店，以便他們可以更多地關注顧客體驗。所以我們對現在的處境感到非常滿意。再說一遍，在下一個財年，我們仍然有持續改進團隊。我們將繼續尋求更多機會來更有效地運營我們的商店。

(Operator Instructions) The next question comes from Anthony Bonadio with Wells Fargo.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Anthony Bonadio。

So I just wanted to ask about the gallon guidance. You're guiding to flattish same-store gallon growth despite what optically looks like a pretty easy compare and you're lapping what I would assume, some level of demand elasticity last year on higher gas prices. Plus you've got the loyalty program. Can you just talk about your assumptions there and maybe why you're not more constructive?

所以我只是想問一下加侖指導。儘管從視覺上看起來很容易比較，但你正在引導同店加侖增長持平，並且你正在超越我的假設，即去年汽油價格上漲導致一定程度的需求彈性。另外，您還有忠誠度計劃。您能否談談您的假設以及為什麼您不更具建設性？

Well, Anthony, with the gallon guidance, I mean there's a lot going hunt right now in the world. And you're right, we're -- if you just look at the first quarter last year, when gas prices spiked over $5 a gallon, there was a bit of demand destruction there, but then things fell off and got a little bit more normalized.

好吧，安東尼，在加侖的指導下，我的意思是現在世界上有很多狩獵活動。你是對的，如果你看看去年第一季度，當時汽油價格飆升至每加侖 5 美元以上，那裡的需求受到了一定程度的破壞，但隨後情況有所下降，並有所下降更加常態化。

It's been a little bit choppy. As we go into this year, obviously, there's a lot of macroeconomic headwinds going on that could have an impact on gallons to the negative. At the same time, we do think that because we've outperformed our relevant benchmarks in our geography, we think we have some potential to grow gallons as well. So we're trying to be appropriately conservative. We've given ourselves some room to grow gallons in the guidance. And also are being somewhat pragmatic about the fact that if we go into a recession and the economy changes that we could see some softness. It's just a little bit too early to tell. So that's how we landed on the guidance that we did.

有點不穩定。進入今年，顯然，存在許多宏觀經濟逆風，可能對加侖產生負面影響。與此同時，我們確實認為，由於我們的表現優於我們所在地區的相關基準，我們認為我們也有一定的增長加侖的潛力。所以我們試圖保持適當的保守。我們在指導中給了自己一些增長加侖的空間。我們對這樣一個事實也持務實態度：如果我們陷入衰退並且經濟發生變化，我們可能會看到一些疲軟。現在說還為時過早。這就是我們得出的指導方針。

Got it. And then on that 3% to 5% inside same-store sales guidance. As we continue to see disinflation and now deflation in some categories, can you just dig in a little more on the underlying components of that growth? And specifically, how you're thinking about contributions from price and unit growth within that forecast?

知道了。然後是同店銷售指導中的 3% 到 5%。隨著我們繼續看到通縮和某些類別的通貨緊縮，您能否進一步深入了解這種增長的基本組成部分？具體來說，您如何考慮該預測中價格和單位增長的貢獻？

Yes. For the inside of the store, we're expecting to see still good growth on the grocery and general merchandise side, probably a little bit softer on the prepared food and dispensed (inaudible) simply because of what we're cycling. We've been up over 13% on 2-year comps. And so this would be the third year in a row that we're cycling really aggressive comps. We're not expecting a lot on the pricing side from inflation, particularly in Prepared Foods. We took a lot of price last year to cover commodity costs.

是的。對於商店內部，我們預計雜貨和日用商品方面仍將出現良好增長，預製食品和分發（聽不清）的情況可能會稍微軟一些，這僅僅是因為我們正在騎自行車。我們的 2 年比較增長了 13% 以上。因此，這將是我們連續第三年進行真正激進的比賽。我們預計通脹不會對定價造成太大影響，尤其是預製食品。去年我們花了很多錢來支付商品成本。

And so we're trying to maintain more of a relevant value proposition for our guests, especially as the economy starts to tighten. On the grocery and general merch side, we're still going to see some inflationary impact from tobacco, and that's just kind of normal course. And like I said, we're seeing some inflation in some categories, but we're also seeing that moderate. And in fact, when we look at alcohol in the beer category in particular, we're expecting that to be a little more price competitive this summer with some temporary price reductions for the manufacturers. So that could be actually a little bit deflationary.

因此，我們正在努力為我們的客人維持更多相關的價值主張，尤其是在經濟開始收緊的情況下。在雜貨和百貨方面，我們仍然會看到煙草帶來的一些通脹影響，這只是正常過程。正如我所說，我們在某些​​類別中看到了一些通貨膨脹，但我們也看到了溫和的通貨膨脹。事實上，當我們特別關注啤酒類別中的酒精飲料時，我們預計今年夏天，隨著製造商暫時降價，其價格競爭力會更強一些。所以這實際上可能有點通貨緊縮。

The next question comes from Ben Bienvenu with Stephens.

下一個問題來自 Ben Bienvenu 和 Stephens。

I want to ask first on the unit growth. 110 units that you're citing for the year. Is that all organic, with any inorganic be an augmenting agent to that assumption? And then I guess along those lines, could you talk a little bit about kind of the phasing of the unit growth and the pipeline visibility that you have there?

我想先問一下單位增長情況。您今年引用的 110 個單位。是不是所有有機物都可以與任何無機物一起增強這一假設？然後我想沿著這些思路，你能談談單位增長的階段性和你在那裡的管道可見性嗎？

Yes, Ben, with the unit growth, 110 units for this year as we model it out at the beginning of the year, we kind of think that's an even split between organic and M&A. And now having said that, a lot can happen in 12 months in the M&A world. So I'll leave myself a little bit of wiggle room based on potential transactions that could occur that mix could change. But we feel very confident in the 110 units regardless of how we do that. And from an organic standpoint, we feel very good about our pipeline. And we've got the sites identified and it's just a matter of building them right now. We're on a better cadence this year, I would say than we were last year. We're feeling better about the supply chain, the permitting component of that equation is starting to get a little bit more ratable. So but we feel a little better about the cadence of growth throughout the year on the organic side. On the M&A side, we feel really good about our pipeline, and we're having a lot of good discussions with potential sellers. The timing of those tends to be lumpy, as you all know. So it's hard to pigeon hole those into any type of quarterly cadence. But we definitely feel good about the pipeline on both organic and inorganic and we're confident we'll be able to easily get to that 110 number.

是的，Ben，隨著單位數量的增長，按照我們在年初的模型，今年的單位數量為 110 個，我們認為有機和併購之間的比例是均勻的。話雖如此，併購領域在 12 個月內可能會發生很多事情。因此，我會根據組合可能發生變化的潛在交易給自己留一點迴旋餘地。但無論我們如何做到這一點，我們對 110 台都非常有信心。從有機的角度來看，我們對我們的管道感覺非常好。我們已經確定了站點，現在只需要構建它們即可。我想說，今年我們的節奏比去年更好。我們對供應鏈的感覺更好了，該等式中的許可部分開始變得更有價值。因此，我們對全年有機增長的節奏感覺更好一些。在併購方面，我們對我們的渠道感覺非常好，並且我們正在與潛在賣家進行很多良好的討論。眾所周知，這些的時間安排往往是不穩定的。因此，很難將它們歸入任何類型的季度節奏中。但我們確實對有機和無機的管道感到滿意，並且我們有信心能夠輕鬆達到 110 這個數字。

Okay. Great. Maybe revisiting operating expense growth, the 5% to 7% range is much better than you guys have delivered over the last several years understanding that there have been a number of external challenges to getting back to this kind of more normalized growth. When you think about the factors that contribute to either the 5% or the 7%, what are the variables that are the swing agents in that guidance range?

好的。偉大的。也許重新審視運營費用增長，5% 到 7% 的範圍比你們過去幾年所實現的要好得多，因為我們知道要恢復這種更加正常化的增長存在許多外部挑戰。當您考慮影響 5% 或 7% 的因素時，哪些變量是該指導範圍內的波動因素？

Yes, Ben, I guess the first thing I'd tell you is we have made an organization-wide commitment to controlling operating expenses and being very disciplined about that. And so that is a I said, that's an organization-wide effort and I think you saw the results of that effort in this past fiscal year. So you can expect that kind of effort from us moving forward. Having said that, I think in terms of the components, when we look at our G&A, we're essentially keeping G&A flat for the year. And so that's a big step in the right direction. Then from a store standpoint, we have our continuous improvement team, like I've mentioned before, that's doing a lot of great work. And so we expect to continue to see a reduction in same-store labor hours this year as we did in the previous year. And on the rest of the equation, we expect to be able to continue to pursue opportunities to leverage our scale and our purchasing power to drive more efficiencies in the business. Steve, anything else you want to add?

是的，本，我想我要告訴你的第一件事是，我們已經在整個組織範圍內做出了控制運營費用的承諾，並對此非常嚴格。這就是我所說的，這是整個組織範圍內的努力，我認為您在上一財年看到了這項努力的結果。因此，您可以期待我們繼續做出這樣的努力。話雖如此，我認為就組成部分而言，當我們查看 G&A 時，我們基本上保持了今年的 G&A 持平。所以這是朝著正確方向邁出的一大步。然後從商店的角度來看，我們有持續改進團隊，就像我之前提到的，他們做了很多出色的工作。因此，我們預計今年同店勞動時間將繼續減少，就像去年一樣。在剩下的方面，我們希望能夠繼續尋找機會，利用我們的規模和購買力來提高業務效率。史蒂夫，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Just the other piece around employee wage rates. We will -- we're going to continue to obviously pay people competitively and be on market. And so our average wage rate right now in our stores, excluding our managers, is a little over $14 or so an hour. We feel like that's on market broadly across our footprint, but we're certainly going to -- we'll remain very competitive in that space. And to Darren's point, it's -- that's not the source. We're going to control necessarily around store rate. It's more of the efficiency side.

只是關於員工工資率的另一部分。我們將——我們將繼續明顯地向人們支付有競爭力的薪酬並進入市場。因此，我們商店目前的平均工資（不包括經理）約為每小時 14 美元左右。我們覺得這在我們的足跡中廣泛存在於市場上，但我們肯定會——我們將在該領域保持非常有競爭力。在達倫看來，這不是來源。我們將有必要控制存儲率。更多的是效率方面。

Yes. And Ben, I'd just add one other thing, and we've mentioned it before on previous calls. We've also made a concerted effort around controlling our turnover and reducing our turnover and we've had really good success in that over the year. And this past quarter was no different. And during the quarter, we saw a 20% reduction in overtime hours, 20% reduction in training hours. And so we expect to continue to work that turnover down. And as a result of that, we'll lower some of those training costs and overtime hours as well.

是的。 Ben，我想補充一件事，我們在之前的電話會議中已經提到過。我們還齊心協力控制營業額和減少營業額，一年來我們在這方面取得了巨大的成功。上個季度也不例外。在本季度，我們發現加班時間減少了 20%，培訓時間減少了 20%。因此，我們預計將繼續降低營業額。因此，我們還將降低一些培訓成本和加班時間。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Bonnie Herzog with Goldman Sachs.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自高盛的邦妮·赫爾佐格。

All right. I had a quick follow-up question on fuel gallons, which trended negative in May, you guys called that out. So just for, I guess, a little more color on what you're seeing from the consumer in terms of, I guess, traffic fill-ups, et cetera? And I guess, really what the key drivers of the recent pressured volume growth have been? And how does that compare to the industry in the broader Midwest. Are you taking share, for instance?

好的。我有一個關於燃油加侖的快速後續問題，五月份的燃油加侖趨勢為負，你們指出了這一點。所以我想，只是為了讓你從消費者那裡看到的交通堵塞等方面有更多的色彩？我想，近期銷量增長壓力的關鍵驅動因素到底是什麼？與更廣闊的中西部地區的行業相比如何？例如，您是否正在分享？

Yes, Bonnie. On gallons, I guess I could start with fourth quarter. Our gallons were flat in the quarter by the Mid-Continent OPUS data that we saw gallons were down about 2.5% for that same 3-month period. So from that perspective, I would say that even though we were flat, we're probably taking share versus some others in our geography. One of the dynamics that we're seeing that's impacting gallon volume is a softness in diesel fuel volume, and that's really a result of what we've seen happen in the economy over the last few months with softening retail sales. Construction starts kind of slowing down and so you're just seeing less trucks on the road. So we saw a reduction in our diesel volume low single digits. And now that's only about 14% of our fuel mix. But when it's down, it does have an impact. Now on the gasoline side, we are seeing a bit of an increase. So when you mix all that out, it came out flat in the quarter, but that's what's really driving some of the softness right now that we're seeing.

是的，邦妮。就加侖而言，我想我可以從第四季度開始。根據中洲 OPUS 數據，本季度我們的加侖量持平，我們發現同一 3 個月期間加侖量下降了約 2.5%。因此，從這個角度來看，我想說，即使我們持平，我們也可能比我們所在地區的其他一些人搶占份額。我們看到的影響加侖銷量的動力之一是柴油銷量疲軟，這實際上是過去幾個月經濟中零售銷售疲軟的結果。施工開始有點放緩，所以你會看到路上的卡車越來越少。因此，我們看到柴油銷量減少了個位數。現在這僅占我們燃料結構的 14% 左右。但當它下降時，它確實有影響。現在在汽油方面，我們看到了一些增長。因此，當你將所有這些因素混合在一起時，本季度的業績表現平平，但這正是我們現在看到的一些疲軟的真正原因。

Okay. That's helpful color. And then I wanted to ask a little bit on your private label business. You highlighted that -- you now have over, what, 9% of your gross profits and units is private label, which is great. So congratulations. And then hoping you could maybe frame for us how that is or your position there relative to the industry average? And maybe ultimately, what the real opportunity could be and how you're thinking about private label in the context of your guidance this year. And then maybe touch on any key category calls for the consumers trading down more. I think you highlighted beverages, but any others. And then in the context of that, I'm just curious to hear from your perspective about the SNAP benefit changes and what impact that may have had on your business for the consumer in your stores?

好的。這是有用的顏色。然後我想問一些關於你們自有品牌業務的問題。您強調指出，您現在 9% 的毛利潤和單位是自有品牌，這很棒。所以恭喜你。然後希望您能為我們描述一下您的情況如何，或者您相對於行業平均水平的位置？也許最終，真正的機會可能是什麼，以及您在今年的指導背景下如何考慮自有品牌。然後也許會觸及任何關鍵類別，呼籲消費者更多地進行降價購買。我認為您強調了飲料，但也強調了其他任何東西。在此背景下，我只是想听聽您對 SNAP 福利變化的看法，以及這可能對您商店中的消費者業務產生什麼影響？

Yes. The private brand growth has been phenomenal, really. And we're still very bullish on that. Over the course of the year, we saw that 31% growth actually in the quarter, 31% growth in private label over last year. And as you mentioned, our unit share is just under 10%, and our gross profit dollar share is just over 10%. So we really, really feel good about the contribution that that's had. That's that. And that mix has grown about 100 basis points from the same period last year. So everything's kind of working in the right direction on private label. The categories that's probably been the best our chips. In fact, we saw over 80% growth in chips and took about 500 basis points in share in the most recent quarter in our chip category, and we're also seeing a lot of good success in bottled water. But what I'd tell you is, is that I think the price increases that we've taken from the national brands over the past year have really put a spotlight on the value proposition for private brands. It's really widen that price delta between the 2. And so as consumers get a little more penny pinched, they're starting to look for those private brands, and so that's why you saw the mix increase. We expect to add another 40 items into the assortment over the course of the next calendar year, and we'll continue to grow that business. Steve, I don't know if you have any breakdown of private label contribution to [say].

是的。自有品牌的增長確實是驚人的。我們仍然非常看好這一點。在這一年中，我們看到本季度實際增長了 31%，自有品牌比去年增長了 31%。正如您提到的，我們的單位份額略低於 10%，我們的毛利潤份額略高於 10%。因此，我們對所做出的貢獻感到非常非常滿意。就是這樣。這一組合較去年同期增長了約 100 個基點。因此，自有品牌的一切都在朝著正確的方向發展。這些類別可能是我們最好的籌碼。事實上，我們在最近一個季度的芯片類別中看到了超過 80% 的增長，並取得了約 500 個基點的份額，而且我們還看到瓶裝水領域取得了很大的成功。但我要告訴你的是，我認為過去一年我們對民族品牌的提價確實讓自有品牌的價值主張受到關注。這確實擴大了兩者之間的價格差異。因此，當消費者變得更加吝嗇時，他們開始尋找那些自有品牌，這就是為什麼你看到混合增加。我們預計在下一個日曆年中將另外 40 種商品添加到該品種中，並且我們將繼續發展該業務。史蒂夫，我不知道你是否對自有品牌的貢獻有任何細分。

Yes, I mean, listen, we obviously see private label contribution of many multiples of improvement from a margin standpoint. I think we're running if our category nationally is running in the low 30%, private label will be closer to 50% contribution, on a lot of those items varies by overall category profitability. But it certainly is a quite accretive category in general for us to continue to push.

是的，我的意思是，聽著，從利潤的角度來看，我們顯然看到自有品牌的貢獻是許多倍的改進。我認為，如果我們的品類在全國范圍內處於 30% 的低水平，那麼自有品牌的貢獻將接近 50%，其中很多商品的整體盈利能力因品類的整體盈利能力而異。但總的來說，這確實是一個非常值得我們繼續推動的增值類別。

The next question comes from Bobby Griffin with Raymond James.

下一個問題來自鮑比·格里芬和雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

I guess, first guys, it's more of a high-level question, but over the last couple of years, there's clearly been a lot of changes that's happened in the industry, you've had a period of rising wholesale prices, a period of big falls in wholesale, COVID, et cetera. I guess, so when you and the team look, is there a fiscal year or a period of operations that you feel is kind of close to what a normal EBITDA of this business should be where we could benchmark or were you guys benchmark the next 2 or 3 or 4 years of EBITDA CAGRs off of?

我想，首先，這更多的是一個高層問題，但在過去的幾年裡，這個行業顯然發生了很多變化，你經歷了一段批發價格上漲的時期，一段時期批發、新冠疫情等方面大幅下滑。我想，因此，當您和團隊查看時，是否有一個財年或一個運營期，您認為與該業務的正常 EBITDA 應該接近，我們可以在其中進行基準測試，或者你們是否對接下來的 2 年進行了基準測試或者 3 或 4 年的 EBITDA 複合年增長率？

Well, Bobby, that's a tricky question. I'm not sure what normal looks like anymore, if you put it in the context for the last 4 years. I don't know. To a certain extent, I would just fall back on what we've done historically and say we've grown EBITDA at an 8% to 10% CAGR pretty consistently over a long period of time, and that's been through a lot of different economic cycles. So if I were going to anchor on anything, I would say, I think that's a long track record of performance where we've been able to stay in that type of range, really regardless of how the economy is performing. Now quarter-to-quarter or year-to-year, that may fluctuate a bit. But over a longer period of time, I think that's a pretty safe place to anchor yourself on. And so I don't see anything on the horizon that will prevent us from continuing to do that. And we'll talk about this more on our Investor Day, but no, we feel very good about the future. And so I guess that's the best answer I think I can come up with Bobby, is that what you're kind of looking for?

嗯，鮑比，這是一個棘手的問題。如果你把它放在過去四年的背景下，我不確定正常是什麼樣子了。我不知道。在某種程度上，我只想回顧一下我們過去所做的事情，並說我們的 EBITDA 在很長一段時間內以 8% 至 10% 的複合年增長率增長，而且這是經歷了許多不同的經濟時期的結果。循環。因此，如果我要錨定任何事情，我會說，我認為這是一個長期的業績記錄，無論經濟表現如何，我們都能夠保持在這種範圍內。現在，按季度或按年計算，可能會出現一些波動。但從長遠來看，我認為這是一個非常安全的立足點。因此，我認為沒有任何事情會阻止我們繼續這樣做。我們將在投資者日更多地討論這一點，但不，我們對未來感覺非常好。所以我想這是我能想到的最好答案，鮑比，這就是你想要的嗎？

Yes. I mean that's fair. Yes. I mean I agree, it's very tough to predict normal. It's just when you kind of -- maybe we best look at it on the rolling 3 years and kind of have that historical performance there because there has been such big swings in the fuel side of the business. So no, that's fair. I guess my second question is back to private label. Just the performance there has been pretty impressive. It's getting to a point now where it's a meaningful part of the business. Just curious, as we've maybe seen some modest breaks in inflation here, how are the national brands now responding? Are you seeing them come back to the table given the success you guys have had in private label and come back with more compelling offerings from a price or a promo basis? Or are they kind of just accepting the shift that's taking place inside your grocery business?

是的。我的意思是這很公平。是的。我的意思是我同意，很難預測正常情況。只是當你——也許我們最好在滾動的三年裡觀察它並在那裡有歷史表現，因為燃料方面的業務發生瞭如此大的波動。所以不，這是公平的。我想我的第二個問題又回到了自有品牌。僅那裡的表現就令人印象深刻。現在它已成為業務中有意義的一部分。只是好奇，因為我們可能已經看到這裡的通貨膨脹出現了一些溫和的突破，民族品牌現在有何反應？鑑於你們在自有品牌方面取得的成功，您是否會看到他們重新回到桌面上，並以價格或促銷為基礎提供更具吸引力的產品？或者他們只是接受你的雜貨業務內部正在發生的轉變？

Well, I think first, I think they started to moderate on the price increases that they're passing on to us. And so I think some of that is a reflection of just inflation overall starting to subside. Some of it is a reflection of the fact that our private brand mix has grown continuously. And we have really good relationships with our major suppliers, and we have great conversations with them about this subject.

嗯，我認為首先，我認為他們開始放緩轉嫁給我們的價格上漲。因此，我認為這在一定程度上反映了整體通脹開始消退。其中一些反映了我們自有品牌組合不斷增長的事實。我們與我們的主要供應商有著非常良好的關係，並且我們與他們就這個主題進行了很好的對話。

In some cases, they make some of the private label for us. In other cases, they probably wish we didn't have it. But yes, I think as we continue to have success with it, we continue to challenge each other to find ways to grow the entire pie. Our goal with private label isn't to reduce sales of national brands. Our goal in private label is to meet the needs of consumers that are looking for more affordable high-quality options. And so we seek to offer that to those guests. And at the same time, we do a lot of great work with our national brand suppliers to make sure we're satisfying the needs of those guests as well. And so -- so yes, we have good discussions. That's all part of our joint business planning process that we've been implementing for the last few years. And as you can see with our inside sales numbers, it's been pretty successful.

在某些情況下，他們為我們製作一些自有品牌。在其他情況下，他們可能希望我們沒有它。但是，是的，我認為，隨著我們繼續取得成功，我們將繼續相互挑戰，尋找擴大整個蛋糕的方法。我們的自有品牌目標不是減少民族品牌的銷量。我們自有品牌的目標是滿足尋求更實惠的高品質選擇的消費者的需求。因此，我們尋求為這些客人提供這一服務。與此同時，我們與國內品牌供應商做了很多出色的工作，以確保我們也能滿足這些客人的需求。所以，是的，我們進行了很好的討論。這是我們過去幾年一直在實施的聯合業務規劃流程的一部分。正如您從我們的內部銷售數據中看到的那樣，它非常成功。

(Operator Instructions) The next question comes from Kelly Bania with BMO Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Kelly Bania。

And sorry if I missed this, but I was wondering if you could just comment on traffic versus ticket within the in-store comps? And just any color on units versus inflation and mix within the 2 in-store categories?

抱歉，如果我錯過了這一點，但我想知道您是否可以對店內比較中的流量與門票進行評論？以及在 2 個店內類別中單位與通貨膨脹和混合的任何顏色？

Yes, Kelly, if you look at the composition of our same-store sales last quarter, we were up 6.5% in inside same-store, about 6% of that was from price and about 0.5% of that was from traffic. And so we feel really good about the fact that we're generating positive traffic, albeit just a little bit but it is positive. And we're also seeing that dynamic play out in the first quarter as well with positive traffic. So as the pricing kind of moderates as we cycle over some of that inflationary pressure, we shifted our focus more towards driving traffic, and we're starting to see the benefit of that.

是的，凱利，如果你看看上個季度我們同店銷售額的構成，我們的同店內部銷售額增長了 6.5%，其中大約 6% 來自價格，大約 0.5% 來自流量。因此，我們對我們正在產生積極的流量這一事實感到非常滿意，儘管只是一點點，但它是積極的。我們還看到第一季度的動態以及積極的流量。因此，隨著我們克服部分通脹壓力，定價有所緩和，我們將重點更多地轉向推動交通，我們開始看到這樣做的好處。

Okay. That's helpful. And I think there was a comment about an expectation to continue seeing a reduction in same-store labor hours. But I was wondering if you could be more specific in terms of the magnitude of further labor hour reductions that are embedded into your 5% to 7% OpEx growth outlook for this coming fiscal year?

好的。這很有幫助。我認為有評論稱預計同店工作時間將繼續減少。但我想知道您是否可以更具體地說明本財年 5% 至 7% 的運營支出增長前景中進一步減少工時的幅度？

Sure, Kelly. This is Steve. Our 5% to 7% -- our plans at the moment for another 1% year-over-year reduction in same-store labor hours. So that be on top of it. It'd be something that we realized this year. And then obviously, we'd have wage offsetting that, but a 1% same-store labor hour reduction is baked into that 5% to 7% OpEx guidance.

當然，凱利。這是史蒂夫。我們的 5% 到 7%——我們目前計劃將同店勞動時間再同比減少 1%。所以這是最重要的。這是我們今年意識到的事情。顯然，我們會有工資來抵消這一點，但同店工時減少 1% 已納入 5% 至 7% 的運營支出指導中。

(Operator Instructions) The next question comes from Irene Nattel with RBC Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自 RBC 資本市場的 Irene Nattel。

Just listening to your commentary, it sounds as though you are sort of marginally more cautious on sort of consumer and spending trends and marginally more bullish on the M&A outlook. So I'm wondering if you could just talk a little bit in both those categories about what you're seeing in the stores, a little bit more around trade down behavior other than private label and the initiatives that you have underway for providing value. And then on the other side, just on the M&A, what you're seeing in terms of valuation expectations and, I guess, your volume in the pipeline?

光是聽你的評論，聽起來你對消費者和支出趨勢稍微謹慎一些，對併購前景稍微樂觀一些。所以我想知道您是否可以在這兩個類別中談談您在商店中看到的東西，更多地談論除自有品牌之外的降價行為以及您為提供價值而採取的舉措。另一方面，就併購而言，您在估值預期方面看到了什麼，我想，您正在籌劃的交易量？

Yes, sure. Irene, I'll go ahead and start with the consumer. I'll let Steve talk to M&A. With the consumer, I think we all recognize that the economy started to soften a bit and so we started to see some consumer behavior from a more macro perspective. When you look at our consumer base, I'll just remind everybody that a couple of things. One, about 3/4 of our consumers earn over $50,000 a year. And that's significant of the fact that of the geography that we operate in, the most expensive state we operate in is ranked 22nd in terms of cost of living.

是的，當然。艾琳，我將從消費者開始。我會讓史蒂夫談談併購。對於消費者，我認為我們都認識到經濟開始有點疲軟，因此我們開始從更宏觀的角度看待一些消費者行為。當你看看我們的消費者基礎時，我只想提醒大家幾件事。第一，大約 3/4 的消費者年收入超過 50,000 美元。重要的是，在我們運營所在的地理位置中，我們運營所在的最昂貴的州在生活成本方面排名第 22 位。

And 7 of the bottom 10 states are in our geography. So $50,000 goes a lot further in our geography than in many others around the country. So with that as a backdrop, what we're seeing from the consumer in our stores is pretty consistent behavior for that group, that 3/4 of the group that are earning $50,000 or more. Not any real significant shifts in buying behavior. With the group that's -- that other 25%, call it, that's earning less than $50,000 a year, we are seeing some shifts certainly shifting more towards private label. Reducing some of discretionary purchases, think lottery and some ice cream novelty, that sort of thing. But they're also shifting those purchases over to more affordable indulgence like candy. We're also starting to see some behavior where they're leaning a little more into our freezer section of buying individual meals and that may be in lieu of going to a QSR occasion as well. So we are seeing a bit of that shifting around the store.

排名墊底的 10 個州中有 7 個州位於我們的地理範圍內。因此，50,000 美元在我們的地理範圍內比在全國其他許多地方走得更遠。因此，以此為背景，我們從商店中看到的消費者的行為非常一致，該群體中有 3/4 的收入達到或超過 50,000 美元。購買行為沒有任何真正的重大轉變。對於年收入不到 50,000 美元的另外 25% 的群體來說，我們看到一些轉變肯定更多地轉向自有品牌。減少一些可自由支配的購買，比如彩票和一些新奇的冰淇淋之類的事情。但他們也將這些購買轉向糖果等更實惠的消費。我們還開始看到一些行為，他們更傾向於購買個人餐食的冷凍區，這也可能代替參加 QSR 活動。所以我們看到商店裡的情況發生了一些變化。

But again, our traffic has been positive. So we haven't seen any sort of behavior that would suggest that the consumers not shopping. And this is one of the beauties of our business model. We sell basic needs for people. And so these are things that people have to have. And so they're going to continue to come. They're just made behave a little bit differently. But at this point, it's really been the low-income consumer that's been most impacted.

但同樣，我們的流量一直是積極的。因此，我們還沒有看到任何表明消費者不購物的行為。這是我們商業模式的優點之一。我們出售人們的基本需求。所以這些都是人們必須擁有的東西。所以他們會繼續來。只是他們的行為方式有點不同而已。但目前，受影響最大的確實是低收入消費者。

And Irene, on the M&A side. The pipeline, I think, remains quite robust as we sit here today in terms of the things that we're looking at. We feel good about that. And just a couple of things that are in that mixing bowl. Listen, there's a higher cost of financing for sure, associated with anybody who does a deal, and I think that's generally a good thing for us. I think potentially marginal buyers are sidelined quicker. Certainly, nonstrategic buyers have largely been sidelined for many of the potential processes that we're looking at where there's no longer a kind of a cost of financing advantage. And then they just don't have any synergies to bring to bear. And so I think it's a smaller pool of potential buyers in general. The operating environment for potential sellers still remains tough. It's tough, tough sledding for a lot of these small smaller operators, which is rising costs and the need to reinvest in the business and labor dynamics, et cetera. That remains definitely a tailwind for us and generally in I think the industry is still working through valuation expectations.

還有艾琳（Irene），負責併購方面。我認為，當我們今天坐在這裡時，就我們正在研究的事情而言，管道仍然相當強勁。我們對此感覺很好。攪拌碗裡只有幾樣東西。聽著，任何進行交易的人都會面臨更高的融資成本，我認為這對我們來說通常是一件好事。我認為潛在的邊際買家會更快地被邊緣化。當然，在我們正在研究的許多潛在流程中，非戰略買家在很大程度上已被邊緣化，因為這些流程不再具有融資成本優勢。然後他們就沒有任何協同效應可以發揮。因此，我認為總體而言，潛在買家的數量較小。潛在賣家的經營環境仍然嚴峻。對於許多小型運營商來說，這是非常非常艱難的，因為成本不斷上升，需要對業務和勞動力動態進行再投資等等。這對我們來說絕對是一個順風車，總的來說，我認為該行業仍在努力實現估值預期。

There's no doubt that sellers want potential sellers. They want to start with all-time high fuel margins, and LTM numbers and 0% financing-driven historical multiples. And that's not the world that we're in. And so you have a little bit of standoff at least initially with that. I think that's starting to break a little bit, but there's no doubt there's still some valuation disconnects at the beginning of a lot of that processes we're involved with.

毫無疑問，賣家想要潛在的賣家。他們希望從歷史最高的燃料利潤率、LTM 數據和 0% 融資驅動的歷史倍數開始。這不是我們所處的世界。所以至少在一開始你們會遇到一些僵局。我認為這種情況已經開始有所改變，但毫無疑問，在我們參與的許多流程的開始階段，仍然存在一些估值脫節。

That's really helpful. And then just one other question, please, around [cheese] pricing. You said that you have 43% of this year's needs locked in. Can you tell us at what price? And can you also give us an idea of whether sort of that 43% is time-based or sort of prorated across the year? And what are your plans in terms of locking in pricing given where we are today versus where we were 3 months ago on pricing?

這真的很有幫助。還有一個問題，關於[奶酪]的定價。你們說你們鎖定了今年43%的需求，能告訴我們什麼價格嗎？您能否告訴我們，這 43% 是基於時間的還是按全年比例分配的？鑑於我們今天的定價與 3 個月前的定價相比，你們在鎖定定價方面有何計劃？

Well, we watch the prices every day. So this is a big deal to us, obviously. And so if we feel like we can lock in year-over-year, deflation as a general matter, that's a pretty attractive entry point for us to be able to do that. The 43%, it is across the whole fiscal year. It's a little bit higher in the first quarter. We're kind of 2/3 or so locked in the third quarter or in the first quarter, I'm sorry, and then it progressively goes down from there. And again, I think I said we're about low double digits, 10% to 15% deflationary in the first quarter based on the amount that we've locked and it probably would be consistent as you go into the later quarters, too. But where this trip ultimately settles is still remains to be seen. And so that number can change. But we're certainly in a much better spot coming out of the gate on [cheese] than we were entering fiscal '23.

嗯，我們每天都會關注價格。顯然，這對我們來說是一件大事。因此，如果我們認為我們可以將通貨緊縮作為一般問題逐年鎖定，那麼這對我們來說是一個非常有吸引力的切入點。 43%，是整個財年的比例。第一季度略高一些。抱歉，我們在第三季度或第一季度鎖定了 2/3 左右，然後從那裡開始逐漸下降。再說一次，我想我說過，根據我們鎖定的金額，第一季度的通貨緊縮率約為兩位數，10% 至 15%，進入後面幾個季度時，情況可能也會保持一致。但此行最終結局如何仍有待觀察。所以這個數字可能會改變。但與進入 23 財年相比，我們在 [奶酪] 方面的處境肯定要好得多。

(Operator Instructions) The next question comes from Chuck Cerankosky with Northcoast Research.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自 Northcoast Research 的 Chuck Cerankosky。

Darren and Steve, can you address shrink in the quarter and the year and whether that's a component of concern in operating the stores?

達倫和史蒂夫，你們能解決季度和年度的萎縮問題嗎？這是否是經營商店時需要考慮的一個問題？

Yes, Chuck. Shrink is always a concern in our stores and our business. I would say that so far, we have not seen any real shift in shrink versus where we've been historically. And I know there's a lot of talk out in the industry about shrink, but we just have not experienced that yet in our stores at this point.

是的，查克。縮水始終是我們商店和業務中關注的一個問題。我想說的是，到目前為止，我們還沒有看到收縮與歷史上的情況相比有任何真正的變化。我知道業內有很多關於收縮的討論，但目前我們的商店還沒有經歷過這種情況。

Okay. That's great. In the tobacco category, as we look out for fiscal 2024, that continues to shrink in volume. What is that? What effect is that having on the grocery gross profit margin?

好的。那太棒了。在煙草類別中，我們預計 2024 財年的銷量將繼續萎縮。那是什麼？這對雜貨毛利率有何影響？

Well, Chuck, what we've experienced is essentially kind of flat sales from a dollar perspective and kind of mid-single-digit erosion in unit volume. And so the pricing that we've been able to pass on has essentially covered the cost increases plus maybe $0.01 or $0.02 a pack. So from a dollar standpoint, it's holding steady, but from a margin rate perspective, it does put a little bit of pressure on the grocery and general merch category. I don't know exactly what that impact is, Steve, I don't know if we actually put a math on that.

好吧，查克，從美元角度來看，我們所經歷的基本上是銷售持平，以及單位銷量的中個位數侵蝕。因此，我們能夠傳遞的定價基本上涵蓋了成本的增加，再加上每包 0.01 或 0.02 美元。因此，從美元的角度來看，它保持穩定，但從保證金率的角度來看，它確實給雜貨和一般商品類別帶來了一些壓力。我不知道這種影響到底是什麼，史蒂夫，我不知道我們是否真的對此進行了數學計算。

No.

不。

But Chuck, what we've also seen overall in the grocery and general merch category is some margin expansion. And so I think that's -- we've been able to offset any pressure from tobacco by accelerating our private label and working closer with our supplier partners on more margin-accretive activities that just overcome that drag from tobacco.

但是查克，我們在雜貨和一般商品類別中總體上也看到了一些利潤率的擴張。所以我認為，我們已經能夠通過加速我們的自有品牌並與我們的供應商合作夥伴更密切地合作開展更多利潤增值活動來抵消煙草帶來的壓力，從而克服煙草帶來的拖累。

(Operator Instructions) The next question comes from John Royall with JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自摩根大通的 John Royall。

So can you talk about the recent volatility on the fuel margin side going from the mid-30s in 4Q? And I think Steve said it jumped to the low 40s in May and then snapped back to the low 30s. Can you talk about the drivers of that volatility. It doesn't feel like price has been quite that volatile since the end of April. So any color there would be helpful.

那麼您能談談最近從第四季度 30 多歲開始的燃油利潤率波動嗎？我想史蒂夫說過 5 月份它跳到了 40 多歲的低位，然後又回到了 30 多歲的低位。您能談談造成這種波動的驅動因素嗎？自四月底以來，價格似乎並沒有那麼波動。所以任何顏色都會有幫助。

Yes. It's just, John, that we just had some wholesale cost increases and decreases, and it has been volatile. And then of course, we're not alone in this. There's a competitive set. And so we have to stay competitive with others in the market. And sometimes, that overall dynamic between cost increases and competitive pricing posture allows us to make more margin in some situations and less margin than others.

是的。約翰，只是我們的批發成本出現了一些增加和減少，而且一直不穩定。當然，我們並不孤單。有一個有競爭力的組合。因此，我們必須在市場上與其他公司保持競爭力。有時，成本增加和競爭性定價態勢之間的整體動態使我們在某些​​情況下能夠獲得更多的利潤，而在其他情況下則能夠獲得更少的利潤。

And so we've had -- it's probably been a little bit more extreme month to month than we would see historically. I would just point you to the last 4 months, the 3 months in our last fiscal quarter and then May. Two of those months were in the low 30s, 2 of those months are 40s. And so typically, the spread is not that much, but I'd say there's nothing unusual in the world that's driving that. Just continued competitive activity and wholesale cost fluctuations.

因此，我們所經歷的情況可能比我們歷史上看到的情況更極端一些。我只想向您指出過去 4 個月，即我們上一個財政季度的 3 個月，然後是 5 月份。其中 2 個月的年齡在 30 多歲，另外 2 個月的年齡在 40 多歲。通常情況下，價差不會那麼大，但我想說，世界上沒有什麼不尋常的事情會導致這種情況。只是持續的競爭活動和批發成本波動。

Okay. That's helpful. Darren, and then I noticed you had a pretty sizable working capital draw in 4Q. Any color around that and any portion of that might be reversible in 1Q or later on in the year?

好的。這很有幫助。達倫，然後我注意到您在第四季度有相當大的營運資金消耗。周圍的任何顏色及其任何部分可能會在今年第一季度或晚些時候逆轉？

Yes. John, this is Steve. I think from a working capital perspective relative to where we were in the prior year, so a lot of our working capital change is just going to be driven by the price of fuel. So right, as the wholesale value of fuel goes up and a particular period that's going to show up, right, as an increase in inventories for us. And it's going to show up as an increase in payables, and then it's going to go the opposite direction.

是的。約翰，這是史蒂夫。我認為，從相對於上一年的營運資本角度來看，我們的營運資本變化很大一部分是由燃料價格驅動的。所以，隨著燃料批發價值的上升，在特定時期，我們的庫存會增加。它會表現為應付賬款的增加，然後就會朝相反的方向發展。

And so the single biggest impact on our working capital change, both in the prior year 12-month period was a big change in the wholesale cost of fuel, and it was the same this year, it just happened to be going in the other direction. There is nothing substantially different happening in the business. We generally, as we add units, are working capital positive, just based on the timing with which we procure fuel and have to pay for fuel and receive credit card payments. And so adding a bunch of units at the very end of the period this year we'll have a differentiating impact on working capital if we add units at a different pace in the prior year as well.

因此，對我們營運資本變化影響最大的一個因素是燃料批發成本在去年 12 個月期間的巨大變化，今年也是如此，只是碰巧朝另一個方向發展。業務中沒有發生任何實質性的不同。一般來說，當我們增加單位時，我們的營運資本是正數，這只是基於我們採購燃料、必須支付燃料費和接收信用卡付款的時間。因此，如果我們在去年以不同的速度添加單位，那麼在今年期末添加大量單位，將對營運資本產生不同的影響。

(Operator Instructions) The next question comes from Krisztina Katai with Deutsche Bank.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自德意志銀行的 Krisztina Katai。

This is Jessica Taylor on for Krisztina. I just wanted to go back to vendors and pricing and just to get your thoughts what you're seeing competitively for pricing. Are your competitors looking more -- doing -- taking more pricing actions? And then from the vendor perspective, if you're seeing any within your negotiations and your joint planning, like any indication that your vendors are looking to drive more units and to price accordingly.

這是克里斯蒂娜的傑西卡·泰勒。我只是想回到供應商和定價，並了解你們對定價競爭的看法。您的競爭對手是否正在尋求更多、正在採取更多定價行動？然後從供應商的角度來看，如果您在談判和聯合規劃中看到任何跡象，例如任何跡象表明您的供應商正在尋求推動更多單位並相應定價。

Yes, Jessica. From a competitive standpoint, we do see some competitors still continuing to take price. And I would say particularly among the smaller operators, that dynamic is not all that different than fuel, where they don't have a lot of levers to pull. So they're pulling the price lever to try to offset higher costs across the board.

是的，傑西卡。從競爭的角度來看，我們確實看到一些競爭對手仍在繼續定價。我想說，尤其是在規模較小的運營商中，這種​​動力與燃料沒有太大不同，他們沒有太多的槓桿可以拉動。因此，他們正在拉動價格槓桿，試圖全面抵消更高的成本。

So we are seeing some of that. From a supplier perspective, it really depends on the type of supplier in the industry and the categories that they're in. I think we're seeing an interesting mix of some suppliers that still believe they have the ability to pass on more price. And so they -- we are seeing a little bit of that. That has certainly moderated from where it was a year ago. We see others, like I mentioned before, in the beer category who are looking to be a little more aggressive this year, and we expect them to be battling over share. And so we're expecting some price off on that category. So a little bit of a mixed bag from that perspective.

所以我們看到了其中的一些。從供應商的角度來看，這實際上取決於行業中供應商的類型以及他們所屬的類別。我認為我們看到一些供應商的有趣組合，他們仍然相信他們有能力傳遞更多價格。所以他們——我們看到了一些這樣的情況。與一年前相比，這一情況肯定有所放緩。正如我之前提到的，我們看到啤酒類別中的其他公司今年希望更加積極進取，我們預計他們將爭奪市場份額。因此，我們預計該類別的價格會有所折扣。從這個角度來看，有點魚龍混雜。

And then as a follow-up, I think on the last call, we talked a little bit about Pizza and a little bit of -- I'm just wondering there if you're seeing any softness in slices or whole pies and how the promotional environment is there. Are you still seeing a lot of promotions from your competitors?

然後作為後續行動，我想在最後一次通話中，我們討論了一些關於披薩的問題，我只是想知道您是否看到切片或整個餡餅的柔軟度以及如何促銷環境是有的。您是否仍然看到競爭對手的大量促銷活動？

In Pizza, we've done pretty well. Our slices, the units are -- have actually been growing. Whole pies have been a little bit soft from a unit perspective, but we've taken a pretty significant pricing in that category. But overall, we're just kind of flat to maybe a little bit negative in that category. And that compares pretty favorably to what we see in our pizza competitive set. We are starting to see some more promotional activity from the major pizza competitors as they all try to get some unit velocity back. We're taking a fairly conservative approach on that. We are doing some promotional activity, but we feel like we're line priced pretty competitively in the base case. So we don't have to discount too aggressively. We have more of an everyday low-price approach, and that seems to work pretty well for us.

在披薩方面，我們做得很好。我們的切片、單位實際上一直在增長。從單位角度來看，整個餡餅有點軟，但我們在該類別中採取了相當重要的定價。但總體而言，我們在該類別中的表現持平，甚至可能有點負面。這與我們在比薩餅競爭中看到的情況相比相當有利。我們開始看到主要披薩競爭對手開展更多促銷活動，因為他們都試圖恢復一些單位速度。我們對此採取相當保守的態度。我們正在進行一些促銷活動，但我們覺得在基本情況下我們的定價相當有競爭力。所以我們不必大幅打折。我們更多的是採用日常低價策略，這似乎對我們來說效果很好。

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

我目前沒有提出任何進一步的問題。現在我想將電話轉回給達倫，讓其致閉幕詞。

All right. Thank you, and thanks for taking the time today to join us on the call. I'd also like to thank our team members once again for their contributions and delivering another record year. And we look forward to seeing everybody on Investor Day on June 27.

好的。謝謝您，也感謝您今天抽出時間參加我們的電話會議。我還要再次感謝我們的團隊成員的貢獻並創造了又一個創紀錄的一年。我們期待在 6 月 27 日投資者日見到大家。

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。