Caseys General Stores Inc (CASY) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Q3 fiscal year 2025 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.

您好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Casey's General Stores 2025 財年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。現在，我想將會議交給今天的發言人、投資者關係和業務發展高級副總裁布萊恩·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, 2025. I'm Brian Johnson, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Business Development. With me today are Darren Reebelez, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, as well as Steve Bramlage, Chief Financial Officer.

早安，感謝您加入我們討論截至 2025 年 1 月 31 日的第三季業績。我是布萊恩·約翰遜，投資者關係和業務發展高級副總裁。今天與我一起出席的有董事長、總裁兼執行長 Darren Reebelez 以及財務長 Steve Bramlage。

Before we begin, I 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 the potential impact of the pike's transaction, 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，我提醒您，我們在本次投資者電話會議中發表的某些聲明可能構成《1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法案》所定義的前瞻性聲明。這些前瞻性陳述包括與派克交易的潛在影響、對未來期間的預期、可能或假設的未來經營成果、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、增長機會以及我們商店的表現有關的任何陳述。

There are a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to occur materially from any future results expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the integration of the of the recent acquisitions, our ability to execute on our strategic plan or to realize 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這些前瞻性陳述表達或暗示的任何未來結果產生重大影響，包括但不限於最近收購的整合、我們執行戰略計劃或從戰略計劃中實現的能力、烏克蘭衝突的影響和持續時間以及相關政府行動，以及我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-KQ 年度報告和不確定因素報告中所述的年度風險因素。

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.

本次電話會議中所做的任何前瞻性陳述均反映了我們截至今日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，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件還是其他原因。

A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP financial measures referenced in this call, as well as detailed breakdown of the operating expense increase for the third quarter, can be found at our website at www.caseys.com under the investor relations link.

本次電話會議中提及的非 GAAP 與 GAAP 財務指標的對帳表以及第三季度營運費用增加的詳細分類，可在我們網站 www.caseys.com 的投資者關係連結中找到。

With that said, I would 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 Darren 討論我們的第三季業績。達倫。

Thanks, Brian. And good morning, everyone. We're excited to discuss the excellent third quarter-results in a moment. Before I do, I want to thank the entire Casey's team for delivering another outstanding quarter.

謝謝，布萊恩。大家早安。我們很高興稍後討論出色的第三季業績。在此之前，我想感謝整個 Casey 團隊又一個出色的季度。

I'd also like to highlight our Feeding America campaign that kicked off in late February in partnership with Celsius. Through April 1, we're excited to be able to help communities in need, including rural areas in faces country, combat hunger and food insecurity.

我還想強調一下我們與 Celsius 合作於二月底啟動的 Feeding America 活動。到 4 月 1 日為止，我們很高興能夠幫助有需要的社區，包括該國的農村地區，對抗飢餓和糧食短缺。

Now, let's get into the results from the quarter. Diluted EPS finished at $2.33 per share, and net income was $87 million both flat with the prior year. EBITDA was up $242 million, up 11% from the prior year.

現在，讓我們來看看本季的業績。稀釋每股收益為 2.33 美元，淨收入為 8,700 萬美元，均與去年持平。EBITDA 增加 2.42 億美元，較上年成長 11%。

Inside sales were up over 15%, and fuel gallons sold were up over 20%, while our store count growth was up 10% versus the prior year, an encouraging sign that the economic impact of the stores we are building and buying is greater than the company average. Inside the store, prepared food innovation was also a key driver of strong performance.

內部銷售額增長了 15% 以上，燃油銷量增長了 20% 以上，而我們的商店數量比上年增長了 10%，這是一個令人鼓舞的跡象，表明我們正在建設和購買的商店的經濟影響大於公司平均水平。在商店內部，預製食品創新也是強勁業績的關鍵推動力。

With regards to fuel, the team managed to outperform the geographic market and grow same sort of gallons with fuel margins over $0.36 per gallon. The business continues to execute on our 3-year strategic plan because we are growing the food business, accelerating unique growth, all while operating the stores more efficiently.

在燃料方面，該團隊成功超越地理市場並實現相同加侖數的成長，燃料利潤超過每加侖 0.36 美元。業務繼續執行我們的三年策略計劃，因為我們正在發展食品業務，加速獨特的成長，同時更有效地經營商店。

I would like to go over our results and share some of the details in each of the category.

我想回顧一下我們的成果並分享每個類別的一些細節。

Inside same store sales were up 3.7% for the quarter, or 8% on a two-year stack basis, with an average margin of 40.9%. Same store prepared food and dispensed beverage led the way. These sales were up 4.7% or 12.6% on a two-year stack basis, with an average margin of 57.8%. Hot sandwiches continued their strong performance, up over 50%, and bakery also performed well, up nearly 10%. Margin was down approximately 180 basis points from the prior year. Due primarily to the addition of the CEFCO stores, they have a lower margin profile, as well as a coffee promotion that featured our new flavor profiles.

本季同店銷售額成長 3.7%，以兩年累積計算成長 8%，平均利潤率為 40.9%。同一家店準備的食物和分發的飲料引領了潮流。這些銷售額以兩年疊加計算增長了 4.7% 或 12.6%，平均利潤率為 57.8%。熱三明治持續表現強勁，上漲超過 50%，烘焙食品也表現良好，上漲近 10%。利潤率較前一年下降約 180 個基點。主要是由於增加了 CEFCO 商店，它們的利潤率較低，而且我們推出了以新口味為特色的咖啡促銷活動。

Same store grocery and general merchandise sales were up 3.3% or 6.2% on a two-year stack basis, with an average margin of 34.2%. Non-alcoholic beverages perform well on the court, with energy drinks continuing a strong momentum up approximately 18%. Margin increased approximately 40 basis points for the prior year, primarily due to a favorable product mix shift.

同店雜貨和日用百貨銷售額以兩年累積計算成長 3.3% 或 6.2%，平均利潤率為 34.2%。非酒精飲料在球場上表現良好，能量飲料繼續保持強勁勢頭，上漲約 18%。利潤率較前一年增加約 40 個基點，主要由於產品結構的有利轉變。

For fuel, same store of gallons sold we're up 1.8% with a fuel margin of $0.36.4 per gallon. Opus fuel gallon sold data shows the mid-continent region down approximately 4% in the quarter, indicating they were taking market share. We believe our high-quality in-store experience drives traffic to our sites and is a significant competitive advantage.

就燃料而言，同店銷售的加侖數上漲了 1.8%，燃料利潤為每加侖 0.36.4 美元。Opus 燃料加侖銷售數據顯示，中部地區本季燃料加侖銷售量下降約 4%，顯示他們正在搶佔市場份額。我們相信，高品質的店內體驗會為我們的網站帶來流量，並成為我們顯著的競爭優勢。

Operating expense management remains top of mind. In the third quarter, we saw an increase of just 3.2% on the same store excluding credit card fee basis. Our continuous improvement team has identified processes that can be simplified while still serving the guests at a high level. The results are there that same store labor hours were down 2%.

營運費用管理仍然是首要考慮的問題。第三季度，扣除信用卡費用後，同店銷售額僅成長3.2%。我們的持續改善團隊已經確定了可以簡化的流程，同時仍能為客人提供高水準的服務。結果是同一家商店的勞動時間下降了 2%。

I would now like to turn the call back over to Steve to discuss the financial results from the third quarter.

現在我想把電話轉回給史蒂夫，討論第三季的財務表現。

Thank you, Darren, and good morning. I'm very proud of the hard work of our team during the quarter as we integrated the largest transaction in the company's history while also producing outstanding results.

謝謝你，達倫，早安。我對我們團隊在本季的辛勤工作感到非常自豪，因為我們整合了公司歷史上最大的交易，同時也取得了出色的業績。

Total revenue for the quarter was $3.9 billion, an increase of $574 million or 17.3% from the prior year due to outstanding results in both inside sales and fuel gallons sold, partially offset by a 4.2% decline in the retail fuel price. Results were also favorably impacted by operating approximately 10% more stores on a year-over-year basis. Total inside sales for the quarter were $1.4 billion, an increase of $185 million for 15.3% from the prior year. For the quarter, over $100 million of the increase was attributable to the CEFCO stores.

本季總收入為 39 億美元，比上年增加 5.74 億美元或 17.3%，這得益於內部銷售和燃油加侖銷售的出色業績，但零售燃油價格下降 4.2% 部分抵消了這一影響。與去年同期相比，門市數量增加了約 10%，這也對業績產生了正面影響。本季總內部銷售額為 14 億美元，比上年增加 1.85 億美元，增幅為 15.3%。本季度，超過 1 億美元的成長歸功於 CEFCO 商店。

Prepared food and dispensed beverage sales rose by $48 million to $397 million or an increase of 13.7%. And grocery and general merchandise sales increased by $138 million to $1 billion, an increase of 15.9%. Retail fuel sales were up $315 million in the quarter, driven primarily by a 20.4% increase in fuel gallons sold.

預製食品和飲料銷售額增加了 4,800 萬美元，達到 3.97 億美元，增幅為 13.7%。雜貨和日用百貨銷售額增加 1.38 億美元，達到 10 億美元，成長 15.9%。本季零售燃料銷售額成長 3.15 億美元，主要得益於燃料銷量成長 20.4%。

The CEFCO stores contributed just over 100 million gallons a quarter. This was partially offset by a $0.12 decline in the retail price of fuel from $2.98 per gallon in the prior year to $2.85 per gallon in the third quarter.

CEFCO 商店每季的貢獻量略高於 1 億加侖。但燃料零售價格從去年同期的每加侖 2.98 美元下降至第三季的每加侖 2.85 美元，降幅為 0.12 美元，部分抵消了這一影響。

We define gross profit as revenue, less cost of goods sold, but excluding depreciation and amortization. Casey's had gross profit of $913 million in the quarter, that's an increase of $126 million or 16% from the prior year. This is driven by both higher inside gross profit of $71.6 million or 14.3%, and higher fuel gross profit of $44.8 million or 17.4%. Inside gross profit margin was 40.9%, that's down 40 basis points from a year ago.

我們將毛利定義為收入減去銷售成本，但不包括折舊和攤提。Casey's 本季毛利為 9.13 億美元，較上年增加 1.26 億美元，增幅為 16%。這是由於內部毛利增加 7,160 萬美元（成長 14.3%），以及燃料毛利增加 4,480 萬美元（成長 17.4%）所致。內部毛利率為40.9%，較去年同期下降40個基點。

Prepared food and dispensed beverage margin was 57.8%, that's down 180 basis points from the prior year. 150 basis points of the decrease was due to the consolidation of lower margin CEFCO stores. The coffee promotion Darren previously mentioned had an impact of approximately 20 basis points. Finally, we also had a very modest headwind on cheese, which was $2.12 per pound for the quarter, and that compares to $2.06 per pound last year, an increase of 3%.

預製食品和飲料的利潤率為57.8%，比上年下降180個基點。其中 150 個基點的下降是由於利潤率較低的 CEFCO 商店的合併所致。Darren 先前提到的咖啡促銷活動產生了大約 20 個基點的影響。最後，我們在起司方面也遇到了非常溫和的阻力，本季起司價格為每磅 2.12 美元，而去年同期為每磅 2.06 美元，增長了 3%。

The grocery and general merchandise margin was 34.2%, that's an increase of 40 basis points from the prior year. The increase in margin is due to a favorable product mix shift of approximately 50 basis points, and that was partially offset due to the addition of the CEFCO stores.

雜貨和日用百貨的利潤率為 34.2%，比前一年增加了 40 個基點。利潤率的增加是由於產品組合發生了大約50個基點的有利變化，而這又因 CEFCO 商店的增加而部分抵消。

Fuel margin for the quarter was $0.36.4 per gallon, that's down $0.29 per gallon from the prior year, and that's primarily due to the impact of the CEFCO stores, which was nearly $0.02 per gallon. Fuel gross profit includes $2.6 million from the sale of RENs, down $0.8 million from the same quarter in the prior year.

本季燃油利潤率為每加侖 0.36.4 美元，比上年下降 0.29 美元，這主要是由於 CEFCO 商店的影響，其利潤率為每加侖近 0.02 美元。燃料毛利潤包括 REN 銷售收入 260 萬美元，比去年同期下降 80 萬美元。

Total operating expenses were up 17.8% or 101.3 million in the quarter. Approximately 14% of the total operating expense increase is due to unit growth, because we operated 254 more stores than in the prior year. Included in this increase was approximately $13 million in one-time deal and integration costs associated with the Fikes transaction. Same store employee expense accounted for approximately 1% of the increase, as modest increases in wage rates were partially offset by the reduction in same store hours.

本季總營運費用上漲 17.8%，或 1.013 億美元。總營運費用增加的約 14% 是由於單位增長，因為我們經營的門市數量比前一年增加了 254 家。這一增長包括與 Fikes 交易相關的約 1300 萬美元的一次性交易和整合成本。同店員工費用約佔增幅的 1%，因為工資率的適度增長被同店營業時間的減少部分抵消。

Depreciation in the quarter was $105.2 million, that's up $16.3 million versus the versus the prior year, and that's primarily due to operating more stores. Net interest expense in the quarter was $29.4 million, that's up $15.3 million from the prior year. And this is more reflective of our new quarterly run rate for interest expense in light of the financing associated with the Fikes transaction.

本季折舊為 1.052 億美元，比上年增加 1,630 萬美元，主要是因為經營更多門市所致。本季淨利息支出為 2,940 萬美元，比上年增加 1,530 萬美元。鑑於與 Fikes 交易相關的融資，這更能反映我們新的季度利息支出運作率。

The effective tax rate for the quarter was 19.2%, and that compares to 24.1% in the prior year. The decrease was driven by a one-time benefit to state deferred tax liabilities following the Fikes transaction. Net income was flat versus the prior year at $87 million.

本季有效稅率為 19.2%，去年同期為 24.1%。減少的原因是 Fikes 交易後國家遞延稅務負債的一次性收益。淨收入與上年持平，為 8,700 萬美元。

EBITDA for the quarter was $242.4 million compared to $217.6 million a year ago, an increase of 11.4%. Our balance sheet is in excellent condition, and on January 31, we had total available liquidity of $1.3 billion. The quarter end leverage ratio of debt to EBITDA was approximately 2.1 times per the covenants in the company's recent -- recently amended credit facilities, and we now expect to achieve our target leverage ratio of approximately 2 times by the end of the fiscal year, and that's a bit earlier than we had originally anticipated.

本季的 EBITDA 為 2.424 億美元，而去年同期的 EBITDA 為 2.176 億美元，成長 11.4%。我們的資產負債表狀況良好，截至 1 月 31 日，我們總可用流動資金為 13 億美元。根據公司最近修改的信貸安排中的約定，季度末債務與 EBITDA 的槓桿率約為 2.1 倍，我們現在預計到本財年末將實現約 2 倍的目標槓桿率，這比我們最初預期的要早一些。

For the quarter, net cash generated by operating activities of $205 million less purchases of property and equipment of $114 million resulted in the company generating $91 million in free cash flow, this compares to using $27 million in the prior year. At the March meeting, the Board of Directors voted to maintain the quarterly dividend at $0.50 per share.

本季度，經營活動產生的淨現金 2.05 億美元減去購買的 1.14 億美元物業和設備，導致公司產生 9,100 萬美元的自由現金流，而去年同期為 2,700 萬美元。在三月的會議上，董事會投票決定將季度股利維持在每股 0.50 美元。

We are updating our previously communicated fiscal year 2025 guidance as follows. Casey's now expects EBITDA to increase approximately 11%, and we now expect the purchase of property and equipment to be approximately $500 million. We're not updating any other metrics, but we have some further clarification as follows.

我們將更新先前傳達的 2025 財年指引，內容如下。Casey's 現在預計 EBITDA 將成長約 11%，我們現在預計購買的物業和設備將達到約 5 億美元。我們沒有更新任何其他指標，但我們有以下進一步的澄清。

But first, while we know there's some modeling noise related to the Fikes acquisition in the quarter, the outstanding financial results that we posted demonstrate the team's ability to integrate a large acquisition while still running the business at a very high level. Also, as a reminder, the fourth quarter will obviously be impacted by the Fikes transaction on our total results, notably on our inside and fuel margins, as well as total operating expenses. They will not impact same store sales.

但首先，雖然我們知道本季與 Fikes 收購相關的模型存在一些噪音，但我們發布的出色財務業績證明了該團隊有能力整合大型收購，同時仍以非常高的水平經營業務。另外，提醒一下，第四季度顯然會受到 Fikes 交易對我們整體業績的影響，特別是我們的內部和燃料利潤率以及總營運費用的影響。它們不會影響同店銷售額。

Additionally, February 2024 included a leap day, which is not repeating this year. The impact of the leap day to the fiscal 2024 fourth quarter was a positive approximately 100 basis points. We believe that February has not been reflected of the expected same store fourth quarter results due to unfavorable weather conditions and the lapping of leap day, but the company does expect to finish the year at the bottom of the inside same store sales range. This does imply that the fourth quarter will be below the annual range.

此外，2024 年 2 月有一個閏日，今年不會重複。閏日對2024財年第四季的影響為正值約100個基點。我們認為，由於不利的天氣條件和閏日的影響，2 月份的同店銷售額尚未反映出預期的第四季度同店業績，但該公司確實預計今年的同店銷售額將處於最低水平。這確實意味著第四季度的銷售額將低於年度範圍。

Same store gallons are still expected to be near the middle of the range for the fiscal year. Fuel margin in February was in the mid-30s on a cents per gallon basis, and that includes Fikes, and cheese costs are very modestly favorable versus the prior year. Our total fourth quarter operating expense expectation is a increase again primarily due to the Fikes acquisition.

預計本財年的同店銷售額仍將接近該範圍的中間水準。二月的燃料利潤率以每加侖美分計算約為 30 多美分，其中包括 Fike，而起司成本與去年相比略有降低。我們對第四季度總營運費用的預期再次增加，這主要歸因於對 Fikes 的收購。

In total, as expected, Fikes will be dilutive to our earnings per share in the fourth quarter, primarily due to incremental interest expense, higher depreciation and amortization, and several million additional dollars in anticipated integration costs. I'll turn now the call back over to Darren.

總體而言，正如預期的那樣，Fikes 將在第四季度稀釋我們的每股收益，主要原因是利息支出增加、折舊和攤提增加，以及預計整合成本增加數百萬美元。我現在將電話轉回給達倫。

All right, thanks, Steve. I'd like to again thank the entire Casey's team, including our new team members from Fikes, for another excellent quarter. I'm also very proud of the team's ability to integrate the largest transaction in the company's history while also producing outstanding financial results.

好的，謝謝，史蒂夫。我要再次感謝整個 Casey 團隊，包括來自 Fikes 的新團隊成員，感謝他們又一個出色的季度。我還對團隊能夠完成公司歷史上最大的交易並取得出色的財務表現的能力感到非常自豪。

The first pillar of our 3-year strategic plan is to accelerate the food business. Our prepared food and dispensed beverage team continues to do an excellent job innovating and finding the right quality products to serve to our guests.

我們三年策略計畫的第一大支柱是加速食品業務的發展。我們的準備食物和飲料團隊繼續出色地進行創新，並尋找合適的優質產品來服務我們的客人。

The hot sandwiches launched last year have continued to perform very well. We also had a limited release of new chicken wings and fries in our Des Moines market with encouraging results so far. On the grocery and general merchandise side, we continue to see strength in the energy drink category, as we mentioned earlier, with 18% growth in the quarter.

去年推出的熱三明治依然表現良好。我們還在得梅因市場限量推出了新款雞翅和薯條，到目前為止效果令人鼓舞。在雜貨和百貨方面，我們繼續看到能量飲料類別的強勢增長，正如我們之前提到的，本季度增長了 18%。

Our store growth pillar was on full display this quarter integrating the Fikes transaction. Our dedicated integration team has done an excellent job getting our newest team members comfortable operating in the Casey's system.

本季度，透過整合 Fikes 交易，我們的門市成長支柱得到了充分展示。我們專業的整合團隊已經完成了出色的工作，使我們的新團隊成員能夠輕鬆地在 Casey 系統中操作。

We're able to do this while maintaining a strong balance sheet. As of January 31, we sat at a 2.1 times leverage ratio and are quickly on our way to the targeted 2 times leverage ratio. Given our track record of executing and integrating meaningful acquisitions, we are well positioned to continue this strategy and enhance shareholder value.

我們能夠做到這一點，同時保持強勁的資產負債表。截至 1 月 31 日，我們的槓桿率為 2.1 倍，並且正在迅速向目標槓桿率 2 倍邁進。鑑於我們執行和整合有意義的收購的記錄，我們完全有能力繼續這項策略並提高股東價值。

Enhancing operational efficiency is the third pillar of the strategic plan. With strong work from our continuous improvement in operations teams, the organization achieved its 11th consecutive quarter of reduced same store labor hours. This work has been done without compromising the Casey's experience, and we continue to see guests and team members satisfaction scores rise.

提高營運效率是策略計畫的第三支柱。透過我們營運團隊的持續改進和出色工作，該組織連續第 11 個季度實現了同店勞動時間的減少。這項工作並未損害 Casey 的體驗，而且我們繼續看到客人和團隊成員的滿意度分數上升。

Overall, this quarter was another great example of how our differentiated business model, coupled with a great team leads to outstanding results. With a high level of execution on our strategic plan, we are able to guide to EBITDA growth of approximately 11% outpacing our standard growth algorithm. We'll now take your questions.

總體而言，本季再次很好地證明了我們的差異化商業模式與優秀團隊如何帶來卓越業績。透過高效執行我們的策略計劃，我們能夠實現約 11% 的 EBITDA 成長，超過我們的標準成長演算法。我們現在來回答你們的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Jacob Aiken-Phillips, Melius Research.

Jacob Aiken-Phillips，Melius Research。

First, I want to ask someone I guess more broad strategic, both of you joined in like 2019, 2020, and you've overseen the company through like some volatile times, pandemic, inflation, but now, we're up against kind of a volatile policy backdrop, tariffs, maybe some accelerating inflation. So just wondering if you could talk about like how Casey's has set up things that have changed over the past 4 or 5 years and why you're confident that Casey's can operate in this potentially volatile environment.

首先，我想問一位更具廣泛戰略眼光的人，你們兩位都是在 2019 年和 2020 年加入的，並且帶領公司度過了一些動盪時期，如疫情、通貨膨脹，但現在，我們面臨著一種動蕩的政策背景、關稅，也許還有一些加速的通貨膨脹。所以我只是想問您是否可以談談 Casey's 在過去 4 到 5 年內是如何設置的，以及您為什麼有信心 Casey's 可以在這個潛在不穩定的環境中運作。

Yeah, you're right, I started in the middle of 2019 and so -- and then Steve started a year later and so yeah, we've got to see quite a bit over the last few years. And I guess what I would tell you is that the company we started in 5 or 6 years ago is very different than the company we have today. We've added a lot of different capabilities whether it's in in our procurement function, data and analytics, our guests' insights, our culinary team, continuous improvement. We just have a whole suite of capabilities that we simply didn't have several years ago.

是的，你說得對，我是在 2019 年中期開始的，然後史蒂夫在一年後也開始工作，所以，是的，我們在過去幾年裡看到了不少變化。我想告訴你們的是，我們五、六年前創立的公司與今天的公司有很大不同。我們增加了許多不同的功能，無論是在我們的採購功能、數據和分析、客人見解、烹飪團隊或持續改進方面。我們擁有一整套幾年前根本不具備的能力。

And so, as I look at this particular environment with some uncertainty and a bit of volatility, I feel far more confident now than I ever was before in our ability to deal with those things just because we have a more tenured team, we have more sophisticated capabilities, we have better technology, and so, I just feel like we're better equipped to deal with whatever comes our way. And so far, what we're seeing is is a lot of uncertainty, but we haven't seen a lot of concrete impacts to the business either based on all the noise out there in the world, so I feel like we're in a much better position to deal with whatever comes.

因此，當我看著這個帶有一些不確定性和波動性的特殊環境時，我現在比以往任何時候都更加相信我們有能力應對這些事情，因為我們擁有一支更資深的團隊，我們擁有更先進的能力，我們擁有更好的技術，所以，我覺得我們更有能力應對遇到的任何問題。到目前為止，我們看到的是很多不確定性，但基於世界上的所有噪音，我們還沒有看到對業務產生很多具體影響，因此我覺得我們處於更好的位置來應對任何可能發生的事情。

I would probably add to that, Jacob. You put all of that on top of just the resiliency of our core business model, right? Casey's was successful for a long time before any of the current members of the leadership team got here through all kinds of external environments.

我可能還會補充一點，雅各。您把所有這些都置於我們核心業務模型的彈性之上，對嗎？在現任領導團隊成員透過各種外部環境來到凱西百貨之前，凱西百貨就已經取得了長期的成功。

And the beauty of our business model is we're not dependent on a particular set of exogenous factors going our way, whether it's in petroleum or health of consumer, we've got a differentiated value proposition inside the store when times are tough for a consumer, we've got outstanding fuel capabilities, much more sophisticated than most of the people that we compete against with on a day-to-day basis. And the merchandizing offering that we have inside the store, we feel is second to none. And so, almost irrespective of what's happening outside of our four walls, we feel like we have something that differentiates us from anybody else in the space.

我們的商業模式的優點在於，我們不依賴特定的一組外部因素，無論是石油還是消費者健康，當消費者遇到困難時，我們在商店內提供差異化的價值主張，我們擁有卓越的燃料能力，比我們日常競爭的大多數人都要老練得多。我們認為，店內提供的商品是首屈一指的。因此，幾乎無論外面發生什麼，我們都感覺自己與這個空間裡的其他人不同。

And then I guess just as a follow up on Fikes, it was known that it was going to be downloaded to margins, so I guess mainly from prepared food, what are the like easy things to fix? Is it just a factor of different product mix and what are the timelines to like kind of helping those stores improve on their margins?

然後我想就像對 Fikes 的後續行動一樣，眾所周知它將被下載到邊緣，所以我想主要來自準備好的食物，有什麼容易修復的事情嗎？這是否只是不同產品組合的因素？幫助這些商店提高利潤率的時間表是什麼？

Yeah, well, nothing's easy to fix. I guess what I would say is you know what, if you look at the prepared food side of their business, that's probably where the most glaring difference in the margin profile between where they are today and where we are. Some of that is due simply to product mix and what they sell. They're what they sell in their food business is a little more protein heavy, which tends to come with a little bit lower margin profile, where we sell a lot of pizza which has a much higher margin profile. So some of the fix, so to speak, will be when we ultimately get kitchens in those stores and we can get our assortment of products and to complement theirs, so we'll add pizza to their assortment.

是啊，沒有什麼事情是容易解決的。我想說的是，如果你看他們業務的熟食方面，你會發現這可能是他們現在和我們現在的利潤率狀況最明顯的區別。部分原因只是由於產品組合和他們銷售的產品。他們的食品業務中銷售的食品蛋白質含量較高，因此利潤率通常會較低，而我們銷售的披薩利潤率則要高得多。因此，可以這麼說，當我們最終在這些商店中設有廚房時，我們可以獲得各種各樣的產品，並補充他們的產品，所以我們會在他們的產品系列中添加披薩。

And you know, what's really encouraging right now is we've converted 3 stores pretty quickly that already had kitchens in them and we've kind of taken a best of both approach to the assortment where we've kept some of the things that really made them successful. We added some of the things that make us who we are, primarily pizza, and we have the best of both and then we've eliminated some of the things that weren't as profitable for them. And so, what we're seeing is really good results so far. Granted, it's only 3 stores, it's early days.

你知道，現在真正令人鼓舞的是，我們很快就改造了 3 家已經有廚房的商店，並且我們在商品組合方面採取了兩全其美的方法，保留了一些真正使它們成功的因素。我們添加了一些讓我們成為自己的元素，主要是披薩，我們兼具兩者的優點，然後我們剔除了一些對他們來說不那麼有利可圖的東西。所以，到目前為止我們看到的結果確實很好。當然，現在只有 3 家店，還處於早期階段。

But we really think that as we get further into it and we're able to optimize that menu between what they did really well and what we do really well, we'll see not only increased margins, but we'll see increased velocities as well. And then, of course, over time as their existing supplier contracts come to an end, we'll be able to migrate them over onto our contracts with far more scale and so we'll be able to blend that margin up as well.

但我們確實認為，隨著我們進一步深入研究，我們能夠在他們做得非常好的和我們做得非常好的之間優化菜單，我們不僅會看到利潤率的提高，而且還會看到速度的提高。然後，當然，隨著時間的推移，隨著他們現有的供應商合約到期，我們將能夠將它們遷移到我們規模更大的合約中，這樣我們也能將該利潤融合起來。

Anthony Bonadio, Wells Fargo.

富國銀行的安東尼·博納迪奧 (Anthony Bonadio)。

So just digging in on Fikes a little bit more, can you just maybe talk a little bit more about early performance from that asset, how the integration's going and then any change to how you're thinking about the cadence and magnitude of synergies?

因此，讓我們更深入地了解一下 Fikes，您能否再談談該資產的早期表現、整合的進展情況，以及您對協同效應的節奏和幅度的看法有何變化？

Yeah, I'll talk a little bit about performance thus far. I'll let Steve talk about cadence of synergies. But performance overall, I mean, we're pretty happy. We're only one quarter into it, right? And unfortunately, that first quarter was in the wintertime, and they got a lot of snow in Texas and in the panhandle of Florida, which doesn't happen a whole heck of a lot, so probably not as representative of what the normal business performs like.

是的，我將稍微談論一下迄今為止的表現。我讓史蒂夫來談談協同效應的節奏。但就整體表現而言，我們非常滿意。我們只進行了四分之一，對嗎？不幸的是，第一季正值冬季，德州和佛羅裡達州狹長地帶都下了大雪，這種情況並不常見，所以可能不能代表正常的業務表現。

But aside from that, I think it's exactly what we thought we bought. We've got some really high-quality, high-volume stores and attractive geographies. And like I mentioned before, early indications are that when we combine our assortment and doing the things that we each do well, we get some pretty good results. So we feel really good about the deal so far, the team seems to be integrating very nicely, and we got a lot of work to do still, but I feel good about that so far. And again, the real synergies for us start to happen as we convert sources.

但除此之外，我認為這正是我們所購買的東西。我們擁有一些真正高品質、大批量的商店和極具吸引力的地理位置。正如我之前提到的，早期跡象表明，當我們結合我們的產品組合併做我們各自擅長的事情時，我們會取得相當不錯的結果。所以到目前為止我們對這筆交易感覺非常滿意，團隊似乎整合得非常好，我們還有很多工作要做，但到目前為止我感覺很好。而且，當我們轉換來源時，真正的綜效就開始發生了。

Just to reiterate our expectations on synergy capture have not changed. So over 3 to 4 years, we think we can achieve $45 million of synergies. The 40% of that or so would be the food synergy capture that Darren referenced and so, that'll be on the back end of that 3 to 4-year time period just because that's associated with some construction and remodeling there lead times to get that to work.

只是重申我們對協同效應的期望沒有改變。因此，我們認為在 3 到 4 年內我們可以達到 4500 萬美元的協同效應。其中 40% 左右將是 Darren 提到的食物協同效應捕獲，因此，這將在 3 到 4 年時間段的後端進行，因為這與一些建設和改造相關，需要一定的前置時間才能使其發揮作用。

And so, certainly in the first 12 months, you would expect us to capture some fuel pricing synergy where we've taken over the pricing of fuel already and starting to convert that more to how Casey's mothership would do that and then there'll be some overheads synergies obviously as we work through the rationalization of some of the processes that the FIkes had been doing previously. In the middle of that, we'll get some merchandise synergies for our center of store mix, but again, most of what will happen in the next 12 months would be on the fuel and the overhead side.

因此，當然在前 12 個月，您會期望我們能夠獲得一些燃料定價協同效應，我們已經接管了燃料定價，並開始將其更多地轉換為 Casey 母公司的做法，然後顯然會有一些間接費用協同效應，因為我們正在努力合理化 FIkes 之前一直在做的一些流程。在此期間，我們將為我們的門市組合中心獲得一些商品協同效應，但未來 12 個月內大部分變化將發生在燃料和間接費用方面。

And then just on the gallon side, you guys put up a really strong fuel gallon quarter. Well, we've generally seen pretty choppy, industry data and results from others. So can you just talk a little bit more about what you think driving that up performance, and then just maybe your latest thinking on the right balance between gallon growth, and margin as you look to optimize gross profit dollars.

然後就加侖方面而言，你們推出了非常強勁的燃油加侖季度。嗯，我們總體上看到相當不穩定的行業數據和其他數據。那麼，您能否再多談一下您認為推動業績成長的因素，然後您能否談談您對加侖成長和利潤率之間的適當平衡的最新想法，以優化毛利？

I would say that there are two factors that really drove the gallon performance in this quarter. Some of it is some of the acquisition stores that we did in prior years, they're starting to ramp. And so, as we cycle over some softer numbers, when we bought those stores, now we're starting to see our fuel capabilities come to bear on those stores, and we're seeing some strong gallon growth in those areas.

我想說有兩個因素真正推動了本季加侖價格的表現。其中一些是我們前幾年收購的一些商店，它們現在開始擴張。因此，當我們循環查看一些較弱的數字時，當我們購買這些商店時，現在我們開始看到我們的燃料能力對這些商店產生影響，並且我們看到這些地區的加侖數強勁增長。

The other area that we started to see some traction in is on diesel, and that's been a subcategory. It's been under some pressure for the last several quarters but started to gain some traction in the most recent quarter, both on the commercial side and through some of the programs that we have to offer incremental value to that over the road diesel consumer. So we saw strength in both of those areas and that really contributed to the overall gallon performance.

我們開始看到一些發展勢頭的另一個領域是柴油，這是一個子類別。在過去的幾個季度裡，它一直承受著一些壓力，但在最近一個季度開始獲得一些發展動力，無論是在商業方面，還是透過一些我們為道路柴油消費者提供增量價值的項目。因此，我們看到這兩個領域都表現出色，這對整體加侖表現確實做出了貢獻。

Bonnie Herzog, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的邦妮·赫爾佐格 (Bonnie Herzog)。

I wanted to ask about just the fears of recession right now seem to be gaining some momentum recently so just hoping you could touch on how your business model and value proposition might position you hopefully, well in the case of a recessionary environment? And along those lines, have you become more aggressive on your food and beverage promotions recently given the increased promotional intensity we're seeing at some of the QSRs, any broader commentary on the consumer, your recessionary playbook and promotional levels would be helpful.

我想問一下，目前人們對經濟衰退的擔憂似乎最近有所加劇，所以希望您能談談您的商業模式和價值主張在經濟衰退的環境下會如何定位您？考慮到我們看到一些 QSR 餐廳的促銷力度加大，您最近在食品和飲料促銷方面是否變得更加積極，對消費者、您的經濟衰退策略和促銷水平的任何更廣泛的評論都會有所幫助。

Yeah, going into recessions, if we end up in one, Casey's for a long time has performed very well during recessionary times and then that's for a couple of reasons. One is that we sell basic daily needs that people need. They're low dollar denominations. So in the grand scheme of things, when people have to pull back on discretionary spending, a lot of what we sell would be considered by our guests to be non-discretionary and because there tends to be a lower price point, it isn't the first thing to cut on the list because these are daily needs. That being point number 1.

是的，如果我們陷入經濟衰退，那麼 Casey's 在很長一段時間內都在經濟衰退時期表現得非常好，這是出於幾個原因。一是我們銷售人們需要的基本生活用品。它們是小面額的美元。因此，從總體上看，當人們不得不削減可自由支配的開支時，我們銷售的許多商品都會被我們的客人視為非可自由支配的物品，而且由於它們的價格往往較低，所以它們不會首先被從清單上剔除，因為這些都是日常所需。這是第一點。

Point number 2 is on our food proposition. We are generally speaking lower price than an equivalent QSR alternative. And so, as consumers start to look for value, we're a great trade down opportunity from a price perspective, but not a trade down in quality. So I think consumers feel really good about being able to stretch their dollars with us on the food side.

第二點是關於我們的食品主張。一般來說，我們的價格比同等的 QSR 替代品更低。因此，當消費者開始尋求價值時，從價格角度來看，我們是一個很好的降價機會，但品質卻不是降價機會。因此我認為消費者對於能夠在食品方面與我們合作節省開支感到非常高興。

With respect to being more promotional, we have not increased our promotional activity. We have been more targeted with that. We've got some new capabilities now where we're able to more efficiently look at different consumers and what their purchasing habits have been and where we see that they may be lapsed, we can target them with more specific offers. So we're not spending more from a promotional standpoint, but we're being far more targeted in how we do that.

在加強促銷方面，我們並沒有增加促銷活動。我們對此更有針對性。我們現在有了一些新的能力，能夠更有效地了解不同的消費者，了解他們的購買習慣，如果發現他們可能會流失，我們就可以向他們提供更有針對性的優惠。因此，從促銷的角度來看，我們不會花費更多，但我們在促銷方式上會更有針對性。

Mike Montani, Evercore ISI.

麥克·蒙塔尼（Mike Montani），Evercore ISI。

So you had a two-parter here. The first one was just in terms of a high level, maybe if you could talk a little bit about the state of the consumer through your eyes. And secondly, like the value GAAP positioning that you see versus peers given some of the promotional activity from some of the other dining options that may exist out there.

因此，這裡有兩個部分。第一個問題只是從高層次的角度來說，也許您可以從您的角度稍微談談消費者的狀況。其次，考慮到其他餐飲選擇可能存在的一些促銷活動，您與同行相比看到的 GAAP 價值定位。

From the consumer standpoint, I think similar to others, we've seen a little bit of pressure on the lower income consumer, but what I would say is that consumer, and I'll remind you that for the -- we consider a low-income consumer, someone who makes less than $50,000 a year. We only have about 25% of our guest space is in that category, so we're not overly exposed in the base case. They are still purchasing. We still see positive growth from those consumers. It's just not at the same rate that we see in the other income cohorts, so they're still buying, just not as much as some of the other cohorts.

從消費者的角度來看，我認為與其他人類似，我們看到低收入消費者面臨一些壓力，但我想說的是消費者，我要提醒你，我們認為低收入消費者是年收入低於 5 萬美元的人。我們只有大約 25% 的客房屬於該類別，因此在基本情況下我們不會過度暴露。他們仍在購買。我們仍然看到這些消費者的正面成長。只是這個比例與我們在其他收入群體中看到的不同，所以他們仍在購買，只是購買量不如其他群體那麼多。

Typically, about 100 to 300 basis points softer, and it's more in some of those, I guess maybe more discretionary items like, tobacco and alcohol where we see a little bit of softness there, but that's really from the consumer side.

通常情況下，價格會下跌約 100 到 300 個基點，而且我猜更多的是那些可自由支配的商品，例如菸草和酒精，我們會看到一些疲軟，但這確實是從消費者方面來看的。

On with respect to value, like I said, I think we're still in a good spot from a value proposition standpoint when we look at our pizza business. On the one hand, only about half of our stores even have a national brand competitor in their trade area, so we don't really have to go head-to-head with somebody that might be a little more promotional in about half of our stores.

關於價值，就像我說的，我認為從價值主張的角度來看，當我們審視我們的披薩業務時，我們仍然處於良好的位置。一方面，我們只有大約一半的商店在其貿易區域內擁有全國性品牌的競爭對手，因此，我們實際上不必與在我們大約一半的商店中可能更具促銷精神的品牌進行正面競爭。

And the other half where we do have a national brand competitor, we typically are $1 or more below on a typical menu price versus those competitors. So we already start off at a competitive value relative to them, and then we do some promotional activity, they do some, so we feel like we're always competitive. And like I said before, we're able to more -- get more specific and targeted with our rewards members and really be more efficient with our promotional spend.

而另一半我們確實有全國性品牌競爭對手，我們的菜單價格一般比那些競爭對手低 1 美元或更多。因此，我們已經以相對於他們的競爭價值開始，然後我們做一些促銷活動，他們也做一些，所以我們覺得我們一直很有競爭力。而且就像我之前說過的，我們能夠更具體、更有針對性地為我們的獎勵會員提供服務，並真正提高我們的促銷支出效率。

Bobby Griffin, Raymond James.

鮑比·格里芬、雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

So I guess, Darren, I want to circle back on February and just kind of ask in the sense of, obviously, there's a lot of anxiety on consumer spending from investors and different things like that. But when you kind of X out the weather or look in the regions of your business that might not have been impacted quite as much on a year-to-year basis, is there anything you can share to kind of give comfort that this really was a weather impact around February, any data or anything like that?

所以我想，達倫，我想回顧一下二月的情況，只是想問一下，顯然，投資者對消費支出等有很多擔憂。但是，當您對天氣進行分析或查看您的業務區域時，這些區域可能與去年同期相比沒有受到太大的影響，您是否可以分享一些資訊來證明這確實是 2 月份左右的天氣影響，有任何數據或類似資訊嗎？

Yeah, Bobby, I don't have specific numbers to share with you on that other than to say February was a tough weather month and I can tell you when the temperature difference is 50 or 60 degrees colder than the prior year, I mean, you see it in the numbers. And what gives me confidence about this, Bobby, is that when the weather starts to normalize, we even gets back to parity, it doesn't have to be good weather, it just has to be comparable weather, we see the business respond accordingly and we see the growth again.

是的，鮑比，我沒有具體的數字可以與你分享，只能說二月是一個天氣艱難的月份，我可以告訴你，溫差比前一年低了 50 或 60 度，我的意思是，你可以在數字中看到它。鮑比，讓我對此充滿信心的是，當天氣開始正常化時，我們甚至會回到平價水平，不一定是好天氣，只要是可比的天氣，我們就會看到業務做出相應的反應，我們會看到再次增長。

So if I wasn't seeing that, I would have other concerns, but it is strictly been tied to those weather events, where we have a normal, unusual amount of snow where you had to shut down some stores or just, like I mentioned before, those extreme temperature variations. So I don't have any concern that there's a more fundamental issue with the consumer because they bounce back as soon as the weather clears up.

所以，如果我沒有看到這種情況，我會有其他的擔憂，但這與天氣事件密切相關，我們會遇到正常的、不尋常的降雪量，不得不關閉一些商店，或者就像我之前提到的，極端的溫度變化。因此，我並不擔心消費者有更根本的問題，因為一旦天氣轉晴，他們的消費就會迅速恢復。

And then maybe just on the coffee promotion as well as the wing test, just anything more you can share on that in particular, how they went and it's something, I know coffee's been a category you guys have talked about maybe being able to do a little better and kind of pushing, is that something that was successful and that might continue going forward?

然後也許只是關於咖啡推廣以及機翼測試，您還能分享更多具體內容，他們進展如何，我知道咖啡是你們談到的一個類別，也許能夠做得更好，並且有所推動，這是成功的事情嗎？並且可能會繼續下去嗎？

Yeah, on the coffee side, it's still a little bit early, but we did see some good results. We saw a shift to having positive unit growth in that category for the first time in years and you know, really that was assortment driven we've got a new supplier, a little more sophisticated on the quality of the product, we did a lot of development and testing on that one. So, we think we've got the assortment right.

是的，就咖啡方面而言，現在還有點早，但我們確實看到了一些不錯的結果。多年來，我們首次看到該類別的單位數量出現正增長，你知道，這實際上是由產品分類驅動的，我們有了一個新的供應商，對產品質量更加精益求精，我們對此進行了大量的開發和測試。因此，我們認為我們的選擇是正確的。

Coffee is a tough habit to get people to change, and so, we got probably a little more aggressive on the promotional side than we normally would. Gave away about 2 million cups of coffee in January, and that hence, the impact to the margin, a little bit on prepared foods. But overall, this is we're -- we're playing the long game here with coffee, so we like the results so far, but it's going to be work over a pretty protracted period of time to really gain traction in that business.

讓人們改變喝咖啡的習慣很難，因此，我們在促銷方面可能比平常更積極一些。一月贈送了約 200 萬杯咖啡，因此，對利潤產生了影響，對預製食品的影響有點大。但總的來說，我們在咖啡方面是一場長期博弈，所以我們對目前的結果感到滿意，但要真正在該業務上取得進展，還需要相當長的一段時間。

On the wing side, again, early days. We just did a soft launch in the Des Moines market in January and then started to advertise in February. We're very pleased with the results so far, really high satisfaction scores from the guests, so we feel confident that we've got the product right. We're still working through some operational kinks as you would expect when you test things, but I feel really good about this. And what we're seeing so far is that this isn't really cannibalizing the pizza business. This is actually contributing an incremental, call it an incremental night per week or an incremental visit from our guests, which is exactly what the goal was. So far so good, again, more work to do, but I feel good about it, in the early stages.

從機翼方面來說，這還處於早期階段。我們一月剛在得梅因市場進行了試運行，二月就開始做廣告。我們對目前的結果非常滿意，客人的滿意度評分非常高，因此我們相信我們的產品是正確的。正如您在測試時所預料的那樣，我們仍在努力解決一些操作問題，但我對此感覺非常好。到目前為止我們看到的是，這並沒有真正蠶食披薩業務。這實際上是貢獻了增量，可以稱之為每週增量夜晚或增量客人訪問量，這正是我們的目標。到目前為止一切都很好，雖然還有更多工作要做，但在早期階段我感覺很好。

Krisztina Katai, Deutsche Bank.

克里斯蒂娜·卡泰，德意志銀行。

So question on prepared foods there and you noted that innovation is driving the results there. So I was wondering if you can help contextualize for us how innovation is indeed driving that market share as it relates to bakery, hot sandwiches, etc. Where do you see the greatest untapped opportunity, whether that is a broader wings roll out, and we understand February has unique noise, but it sounds like March has bounced back. Is that a fair take?

所以關於那裡的預製食品的問題，你指出創新正在推動那裡的成果。所以我想知道您是否可以幫助我們了解創新是如何推動與烘焙、熱三明治等相關的市場份額的。您認為最大的未開發機會是什麼，是否是更廣泛的機翼推出，我們知道二月有獨特的聲音，但聽起來三月已經反彈了。這是一個公平的看法嗎？

The innovation really has been the bigger driver of our growth versus the promotional activity, and we do both, but whenever we get that innovation right, that's when we really see the outsized growth. And you mentioned it in in the hot sandwiches, that we launched that platform a year ago and we're cycling over it with still double digit increases in it. And so, it really goes to show when you get the level of the quality, right? And with some unique twist to it, we start to see some growth.

與促銷活動相比，創新確實是我們成長的更大動力，我們同時進行創新和促銷活動，但只要我們正確地進行創新，我們就會真正看到超額的成長。您在《熱三明治》中提到，我們在一年前推出了該平台，目前我們正在對其進行循環利用，其收入仍保持兩位數的成長。所以，當你達到品質等級時，它確實會顯示出來，對嗎？透過一些獨特的轉變，我們開始看到一些成長。

In our specialty pizza business, this last quarter, we have the Italian deli pizza, and when we saw really strong growth in that specialty pizza subcategory overall. So that -- that's always been the case for us. When we innovate, we win.

在我們的特色披薩業務中，上個季度，我們推出了義大利熟食披薩，我們看到整個特色披薩子類別的成長非常強勁。所以 — — 我們的情況一直都是這樣的。當我們創新時，我們就會勝利。

On the bakery side, we've had real strength in the dessert subcategory, primarily cookies, and the bakery team has done a great job in terms of innovating and coming up with limited time, unique cookie SKUs that really resonate with our guests. And so, that innovation is really taking hold.

在烘焙方面，我們在甜點子類別（主要是餅乾）方面擁有真正的實力，烘焙團隊在創新和推出限時獨特餅乾SKU方面做得非常出色，這些餅乾真正引起了我們客人的共鳴。所以，這種創新確實正在紮根。

I'm sorry, you had asked another part of that question.

抱歉，您問的是問題的另一部分。

Yeah, just it sounds like he said that as the weather essentially turned it started to bounce back so is that a fair take to say that March is seeing sort of normalized level of inside comp growth?

是的，聽起來他說隨著天氣的轉變，它開始反彈，那麼，是否可以公平地說，三月的內部收入增長已經達到了正常水平？

I'd say March is seeing that level of growth when the weather cooperates. Probably the first week of March didn't look a heck of a lot different than the than the last couple of weeks or two of February, but we're starting to see that weather turn around. And again, like I mentioned, when the weather turns, the sales turn around with it. So, we still have a little bit of room to go in the fourth quarter, but if we get back to normal weather comps, I'm confident that the sales performance will follow.

我想說，如果天氣配合好，三月就會出現這種程度的成長。三月的第一周可能與二月最後幾週沒有太大的不同，但我們開始看到天氣好轉。就像我剛才提到的那樣，當天氣轉變時，銷售量也會隨之轉變。因此，我們在第四季度仍然有一點發展空間，但如果我們恢復正常的天氣狀況，我相信銷售業績也會增加。

Kelly Bania, BMO Capital Markets.

凱利·巴尼亞 (Kelly Bania)，BMO 資本市場。

Wanted to just circle back on Fikes. You gave several of the figures, but just curious how much EBITDA, the acquisition of Fikes added to the quarter and how much it's contributing to the 11% EBITDA growth forecast for the year? And if anything has changed on that front whether it's the performance of the business or just timing of integration activities, just an update on that.

只是想回到 Fikes 上。您給了幾個數字，但只是好奇 EBITDA、收購 Fikes 為本季增加了多少，以及對今年 11% 的 EBITDA 成長預測貢獻了多少？如果這方面有任何變化，無論是業務表現或整合活動的時間安排，都會對此進行更新。

In the quarter Fikes, it was EBITDA alluded to us. It was a negative number, and that was primarily because of the $13 million of integration related expenses. So, prior to those costs there were -- it was positive EBITDA, but it was net negative when you added in all of the integration and one-time costs. It will be modestly positive EBITDA in the fourth quarter, again, that's going to be influenced.

在 Fikes 季度中，我們了解到的是 EBITDA。這是一個負數，主要是因為1,300萬美元的整合相關費用。因此，在這些成本之前，EBITDA 是正的，但是當你加上所有的整合和一次性成本後，它就是淨負的。第四季的 EBITDA 將略有正成長，這將再次受到影響。

We'll still have a couple million dollars of integration related costs for sure. Some of it's sliding out from the third into the fourth. Some of it's just normal course spending, but so it'll become EBITDA positive as we expected it to be in the fourth quarter, but it'll still be a relatively small number. And so, if Fikes per se is not a large contributor at all in the second half of the year to us increasing the total EBITDA expectation, that's a mothership phenomenon.

我們肯定仍會有幾百萬美元的整合相關成本。其中一些從第三滑向第四。其中一些只是正常的課程支出，但它將如我們預期的那樣在第四季度變成 EBITDA 正值，但這仍然是一個相對較小的數字。因此，如果 Fikes 本身在下半年對我們提高整體 EBITDA 預期沒有做出太大貢獻，那麼這就是一種母艦現象。

And on fuel, you talked a little bit about the factors driving the strong, seeing stored gallons, but I was just wondering if you can talk about how Casey markets, kind of legacy markets performed from a fuel margin standpoint because we were expecting maybe a little bit of dilution from the Fikes CPG margins just given their regions, and where they operate. But just kind of curious what more of a same store Casey fuel margin looks like and just what your take on the performance of fuel margins is today and when we could maybe start to see those up year over year.

關於燃料，您談到了推動強勁增長的因素，看到了儲存的加侖數，但我只是想知道您是否可以從燃料利潤率的角度談談 Casey 市場和傳統市場的表現，因為我們預計 Fikes CPG 利潤率可能會有一點稀釋，這取決於他們的地區和經營地點。但我只是有點好奇同店凱西燃料利潤率是什麼樣的，以及您對目前燃料利潤率表現的看法，以及什麼時候我們可能開始看到燃料利潤率逐年上升。

Yeah, maybe we'll -- maybe Darren and I'll tag team that one. I'll just start with clarifying on the margin standpoint. So the company produced 36, almost $0.36.5 CPG. That's a consolidated number and so, mother ship cases would have been almost $0.02 higher than that, so call it a little over $0.38. And then the Fikes geography as you hinted at lends that number down by almost $0.02 a share. And I'll let Darren talk about some of the volume stuff.

是的，也許我們會——也許達倫和我會組隊一起做這個。我將首先澄清一下利潤的觀點。因此，該公司生產了 36 台，相當於每加侖 0.36.5 美元。這是合併數字，因此，母艦案件將比該數字高出近 0.02 美元，所以應該略高於 0.38 美元。然後，正如您所暗示的，Fikes 地理位置導致該數字下降了近每股 0.02 美元。我會讓達倫 (Darren) 談論一些音量問題。

Yeah, on the volume side, the number that we gave, the 1.8%, that's the same stored number, so that would exclude Fikes because they're obviously not in our same store panel yet. So that really is the performance of the base business. And again, the factors driving that we're cycling over some acquisition activity from the prior year in addition to seeing some recovery in in the diesel business.

是的，就數量方面而言，我們給出的數字是 1.8%，這是相同的存儲數字，因此這將排除 Fike，因為它們顯然還不在我們的同一商店面板中。這確實就是基礎業務的表現。再次，推動我們的因素包括我們從前一年開始進行一些收購活動，以及柴油業務有所復甦。

Chuck Cerankosky, Northcoast Research.

查克·塞蘭科斯基（Chuck Cerankosky），Northcoast Research。

Looking at the wings business, is that at the stage, you talked about launching it in Des Moines, I think that was where he said, is it at the decision point where it will become an offering throughout the Casey's footprint?

看看機翼業務，您目前談到在得梅因推出該產品，我想他當時就是這麼說的，現在是否到了決策點，它將成為凱西整個業務範圍內的產品？

Yeah, Chuck, we're still early stages there. The team is assessing it, we're still making some tweaks and adjustments, we feel good about what we see so far, but we haven't made that final decision just yet on that platform.

是的，查克，我們還處於早期階段。團隊正在對其進行評估，我們仍在進行一些調整，我們對目前看到的結果感到滿意，但我們還沒有對平台做出最終決定。

Well, you -- do you have any additional cities where will you be tested?

那麼，您還有其他要接受測試的城市嗎？

We don't have any more at this time. The test in the Des Moines area, it's the broader DMA, so it's about 225 stores. So it's a pretty fulsome test, both in the metro area and in some of the surrounding smaller towns. We're getting a good look at how this performs both in a urban environment and in a very much a rural environment. But more to come on that one, Chuck.

我們現在沒有更多了。在得梅因地區進行的測試是更廣泛的 DMA，因此大約有 225 家商店。所以這是一個相當全面的測試，無論是在大都會區還是在周圍的一些小城鎮。我們正在仔細觀察它在城市環境和農村環境中的表現。但是，查克，關於這一點，還有更多內容。

John Royall, JP Morgan.

摩根大通 (JP Morgan) 的約翰‧羅亞爾 (John Royall)。

So my first question is a strategic question and appreciating that you're very early days in the Fikes acquisition and the integration will take some time, but as you think through your next legs of growth longer term, you do have this white space in Texas where you're essentially a new entrant. Is it safe to assume that that's your best opportunity to grow from here and if so, how should we think about NTI's versus acquisitions as it pertains to that opportunity?

所以我的第一個問題是一個戰略問題，我知道你們對 Fikes 的收購才剛剛開始，整合還需要一些時間，但當你考慮長期的下一步增長時，你會發現在德克薩斯州有一塊空白，你們本質上是一個新進入者。是否可以安全地假設這是您從現在開始發展的最佳機會，如果是這樣，那麼當涉及到該機會時，我們應該如何看待 NTI 與收購？

Yeah, John, certainly, we have a lot of room to grow in Texas. We now have 170 stores there between 150 there were in Fikes and then the 22 we bought last year from Lone Star. So yeah, we have tremendous space there.

是的，約翰，當然，我們在德州還有很大的發展空間。我們目前在那裡有 170 家門市，其中 150 家位於 Fikes，另外 22 家是我們去年從 Lone Star 收購的。是的，我們那裡有巨大的空間。

But if I take a step back, with our 2,900 stores now, roughly 2000 of those stores are in only 6 states we operate in. We still have a lot of white space on the eastern edge of our of our footprints. So Michigan, we have three stores open Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee. We're just barely getting started, so yes, Texas certainly does present a great opportunity for for much more growth, but we also have that same type of opportunity in the number of states we operate in. I guess that'd be point number 1.

但如果我退一步來看，我們現在有 2,900 家門市，其中大約 2,000 家門市僅在我們經營的 6 個州。我們的足跡東邊仍有許多空白。在密西根州，我們在俄亥俄州、肯塔基州和田納西州開設了三家商店。我們才剛起步，所以是的，德州確實為更大的成長提供了絕佳的機會，但我們在開展業務的多個州也擁有同樣的機會。我想這就是第一點。

Number 2, we don't -- we approach every fiscal year kind of going in with the assumption that our growth target is going to be half from NTI and half from acquisition, being the small deal M&A type of stuff. Now over the last couple of years, as deal flow has evolved, it's skewed much heavier on the acquisition side versus the NTI side, but we continue to go out and find real estate and land bank those sites so that if the deal flow starts to slow a little bit on the M&A side, we have the pipeline to support it from an NTI standpoint and can continue on our growth algorithm.

第二，我們不會－我們在每個財政年度都假設我們的成長目標一半來自 NTI，一半來自收購，即小額交易的併購類的東西。過去幾年，隨著交易流程的發展，交易量越來越傾向於收購而非 NTI，但我們仍在不斷尋找房地產，並在這些地點進行土地儲備，這樣，如果併購方面的交易量開始有所放緩，我們仍有渠道從 NTI 的角度為其提供支持，並能繼續我們的增長算法。

So that, that's really how we approach it. We don't have a bias one way or the other. We just approach it as a balance and then as things evolve, we shift and adjust to make sure we keep that rateable growth that people are looking for.

所以，這確實是我們處理這個問題的方法。我們不會有任何偏見。我們只是將其作為一種平衡方法來處理，然後隨著事態的發展，我們進行轉變和調整，以確保我們保持人們所期望的可預測增長。

And then just a quick follow up on labor hours. Can you talk about how much runway you think there is to continue to take out same store labor hours and just what inning you think you're in in terms of getting those hours down to where you'd like to operate them?

然後快速跟進一下工時。您能否談談您認為繼續減少同店勞動時間的空間有多大，以及您認為在將這些勞動時間減少到您希望的水平方面您處於什麼階段？

Yeah, when we started a couple years ago, almost when we started this current 3-year plan, we committed to take 1% the same sort of labors out per year over the 3-year period. So we're calling it two-thirds of the way roughly through that process. Now, we're -- frankly, we're a little bit ahead of schedule too. We've taken out more than that. So we still have some runway for the next fiscal year. We haven't really guided to anything specific on that yet, and we will do that in the next quarter. But yeah, we still think there's some opportunity there, at least for the balance of this 3-year strategic plan that we're in right now.

是的，當我們幾年前開始的時候，幾乎當我們開始當前的三年計劃時，我們承諾在三年內每年減少 1% 的同類勞動力。因此，我們稱其為該過程大致進行了三分之二。現在，坦白說，我們也比計劃提前了一點。我們拿走的還不只這些。因此，我們為下一個財政年度還有一定的準備。目前我們還沒有對此做出任何具體的指導，我們將在下個季度做出指導。但是，是的，我們仍然認為那裡存在一些機會，至少對於我們目前所處的三年戰略計劃的平衡而言。

Chuck Grom, Gordon Haskett.

查克·格羅姆、戈登·哈斯凱特。

On the $0.02 drag on the cents per gallon from Fikes, should we think about that wrapping over the next three quarters, or is there something seasonal about this quarter that distorted it? And then on the prepared foods, 150 basis points over a drag, I guess a similar question. How do we think about that wrapping over the next few quarters? In other words, I guess, at what point do you think you can narrow it down to so it's [diminished]

關於 Fikes 對每加侖油價造成 0.02 美元的拖累，我們是否應該考慮未來三個季度的這種影響，或者本季度是否存在一些季節性因素扭曲了它？然後對於預製食品，價格比普通食品高出 150 個基點，我想這是一個類似的問題。我們如何看待接下來幾季的收尾工作？換句話說，我猜，你認為什麼時候可以縮小範圍，以便[減弱]

I'll start with that. So on the CPG, somewhere around $0.02 is probably a good number for the assumption in terms of whatever you had modeled for a traditional Casey's geography. The states that Fikes is active in generally blends in at about $0.02 down. We've only owned it for one quarter, so I want to be a little careful on the seasonality aspect of it.

我先從那裡開始。因此，在 CPG 上，根據您為傳統凱西地理模型建立的假設，大約 0.02 美元可能是一個不錯的數字。Fikes 活躍的州的股價大致下跌約 0.02 美元。我們只擁有它一個季度，所以我想在季節性方面稍微小心一點。

I mean, generally speaking, the Fikes units are larger volume units than an average kind of cases in the mothership. They pump more gallons literally, but I don't have any reason not to tell you $0.02 is a pretty good number on a prospective basis. Some of our synergies that we expect to capture in that $45 million number will be fuel related synergies and so, can we chip away at that delta over time? Yeah, I think we can, but we're not going to gain enough synergies to somehow right size those geographies back to what our average is. That's not what we're trying to do.

我的意思是，一般來說，Fikes 裝置的體積比母艦中普通箱子的體積要大。他們確實抽出了更多的加侖，但我沒有理由不告訴你，從預期來看，0.02 美元是一個相當不錯的數字。我們期望在 4500 萬美元的數字中實現的部分協同效應將是燃料相關的協同效應，那麼，我們能否隨著時間的推移逐漸消除這一差距？是的，我認為我們可以，但我們不會獲得足夠的協同效應來以某種方式將這些地區的規模調整到我們的平均值。這不是我們想要做的。

On the prepared food side, that's going to be -- but we do over time expect to bring the Fikes stores, the majority, 85% of the Fikes stores that will be converted to a Casey's-like prepared food. A margin profile that will be dependent on the construction timeline where we get new kitchens in and so back to an earlier question, it's not going to happen in the next 12 months because of the permitting timeline required, so that will be more in kind of year 3 and year 4. But ultimately, there's no reason for us not to assume that the Fikes stores will come in line with the prepared food margins of the existing Casey's business.

在熟食方面，情況將會如此——但隨著時間的推移，我們確實希望將大多數、85% 的 Fikes 商店轉變為類似 Casey's 的熟食商店。利潤率概況將取決於我們建造新廚房的施工時間表，因此回到先前的問題，由於所需的許可時間表，這不會在未來 12 個月內發生，因此這將更多地發生在第 3 年和第 4 年。但最終，我們沒有理由不假設 Fikes 商店的利潤率將與現有 Casey 業務的熟食利潤率保持一致。

And then my follow up just on the macro question everybody seems to be focused on, I guess a different angle would be when you dissect your basket, are you seeing trade down, more and more people buying fountain drinks? Is there anything to unpack over the past 4 to 6 weeks given the environment?

然後，我的後續問題是，似乎每個人都在關注宏觀問題，我想，當你剖析你的籃子時，不同的角度是，你是否看到交易下滑，越來越多的人購買飲料？考慮到當時的環境，過去 4 到 6 週內有沒有什麼事情需要解決？

Yeah, we have seen some strength in fountain drinks, I will say that. But you know, it's across the spectrum of income cohorts, so I can't necessarily tell you that it's a lower income consumer indexing higher on that, actually, it's a higher income. Consumers are actually growing the fastest on our dispensed beverages, so I'm not sure if I can draw any conclusions from that other than they're liking our fountain business.

是的，我想說的是，我們看到了飲料市場的一些強勁表現。但你知道，它涵蓋了各個收入群體，所以我不能明確地告訴你，低收入消費者的指數更高，實際上，這是高收入消費者的指數。事實上，我們銷售的飲料的消費者成長速度最快，因此，除了他們喜歡我們的飲料機業務之外，我不確定我是否可以從中得出任何結論。

We have seen and continue to see some shifting around the store with candy prices being very high in our bakery program being really robust and some good innovation there. We are seeing people switch over from the candy category into the bakery category, which is a little more affordable and still allows people to get that sweet indulgence that they're looking for. And we like that trade from emerging standpoint, so we'll take that all day long. That's a good one for us.

我們已經看到並將繼續看到商店的一些變化，糖果價格非常高，我們的烘焙計劃非常強勁並且有一些很好的創新。我們看到人們從糖果類轉向烘焙類，烘焙類更便宜一些，但仍然可以讓人們獲得他們想要的甜蜜享受。我們喜歡從新興角度進行的交易，因此我們會整天進行此類交易。這對我們來說是件好事。

But, generally speaking, that's kind of what we're seeing. There's a lot of other mixed shifts going on that. I don't think have really anything to do with the consumer from a pressure standpoint. And you see this in our grocery and general merchandise margin and how that's been able to grow.

但一般來說，我們看到的就是這種情況。還有很多其他的混合轉變正在進行中。從壓力的角度來看，我認為這與消費者沒有任何關係。您可以從我們的食品雜貨和日用百貨的利潤率中看到這一點，也可以看出它是如何成長的。

The cigarette category, combustible cigarettes is under a lot of pressure and so that subcategory has been declining. At the same time, nicotine alternatives have been growing at a really fast rate. In the last quarter, our nicotine alternatives were up 74% while the combustible cigarettes were down right around 4%.

香菸類別，可燃香菸承受著很大的壓力，因此該子類別一直在下降。同時，尼古丁替代品的發展速度非常快。上個季度，我們的尼古丁替代品銷量上漲了 74%，而可燃香菸銷量則下降了 4% 左右。

So that margin trade is a much better trade for us, so that blends that margin up and at the same time, the overall category as is less of the overall grocery general merchandise mix and more of that is going to non-alcoholic beverages and grocery, which carries about double the margin rate that the tobacco category does. So you see those shifts going on and so, that's what's allowing us to blend that margin rate up overall in grocery and general merchandise.

因此，保證金交易對我們來說是更好的交易，這樣可以提高利潤率，同時，整體類別中總體雜貨百貨組合較少，而更多的是非酒精飲料和雜貨，其利潤率大約是煙草類別的兩倍。因此，您會看到這些轉變正在發生，這就是我們能夠將雜貨和日用百貨商品的利潤率整體上混合起來的原因。

Mike Montani, Evercore ISI.

麥克·蒙塔尼（Mike Montani），Evercore ISI。

I just wanted to ask on the private label front, if you could talk about any of the tiering initiatives, how that's going? And then secondly, there's got to be a lot of pressure out there on the independence. So is there additional opportunities for acquisitions, especially in light of the ability to deleverage you've shown so far?

我只是想問一下自有品牌方面的問題，您能談談任何分層舉措嗎？進展如何？其次，獨立方面面臨很大的壓力。那麼，是否還有其他收購機會，尤其是考慮到你們迄今所展現的去槓桿能力？

Yeah, Mike, we are starting to make progress on that tiering is we're -- literally as we speak, just getting some of those new products into the stores and we'll see that gradually bleed into the assortment over the next 9 to 12 months as we wind down some inventories on existing products and ramp up some of the production on the new products. We like what we've seen so far, but it's only a handful of excuses to be honest, and we have a lot more coming over the next several quarters.

是的，麥克，我們在分層方面開始取得進展，實際上，正如我們所說，我們正在將一些新產品放入商店，隨著我們減少一些現有產品的庫存並增加一些新產品的產量，我們將看到這些產品在未來 9 到 12 個月內逐漸滲透到產品組合中。我們對目前看到的情況很滿意，但說實話這只是少數藉口，未來幾季我們還會有更多藉口。

And then I'm sorry, yeah, the M&A environment. Look, I think you see the same industry data that we do, I think the smaller independent operators are under a lot of pressure right now, and those are the conversations that we continue to have that is impacting also some of the larger scale players. So we're optimistic that the environment will continue to be favorable to buyers like us.

然後我很抱歉，是的，併購環境。看，我認為你看到的行業數據與我們看到的相同，我認為較小的獨立運營商現在面臨著很大的壓力，這些是我們繼續進行的對話，也會影響一些較大規模的參與者。因此，我們樂觀地認為，環境將繼續有利於我們這樣的買家。

And we're seeing some pretty good deal flows, especially on the smaller stuff. The bigger opportunities are a little more lumpy, but we're -- whenever something comes to market, we're actively engaged in it. And so, we like the hand we're holding right now. The balance sheet is in great shape. The team is very experienced at integrating these things, so it's really about finding the right opportunities and at the right price for us.

我們看到一些相當不錯的交易流程，特別是小額交易。更大的機會可能有些難以掌握，但只要有新東西進入市場，我們就會積極參與。所以，我們喜歡現在握著的這隻手。資產負債表狀況良好。團隊在整合這些事物方面經驗豐富，因此，這實際上是為我們找到合適的機會和合適的價格。

I would now like to turn the call back to Darren Reebelez for closing remarks.

現在我想請 Darren Reebelez 作結語。

All right, thank you for taking the time to join us on the call today and I hope everyone has a great day.

好的，感謝您今天抽出時間參加我們的電話會議，我希望大家有個愉快的一天。

And 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。