story from Talk Business, a TCW content partner
Murphy USA, the spin-off retail and refinery business of El Dorado-based Murphy Oil Corp., posted net income of $41.7 million on revenue of $4.79 billion during its first quarter as a standalone business.
One year ago, Murphy USA posted profits of $11 million on revenues of $4.97 billion.
Murphy USA said the improved results were primarily driven by higher retail fuel margins, increased values received from the sale of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), and improved results from two ethanol facilities.
During the quarter, those ethanol plants turned around losses of $9.4 million from the previous year and posted $4.5 million gains.
Capital expenditures for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, were $33.7 million compared to $30.2 million in 2012. Of the capital expenditures for the just completed quarter, $26.1 million were for retail growth with $5.4 million spent on retail maintenance items.
“We couldn’t be more excited about our results and progress in our inaugural quarter as a stand alone company,” said Murphy USA President and CEO Andrew Clyde. “Our financial position is rock solid, our separation was seamless, and we made significant progress on exiting non-core assets. We remain very bullish on our growth prospects with Walmart and with the early results from the new 1,200 sq. ft. format sites.”
Other quarterly highlights included:
• For the current quarter, merchandise revenues were $557 million compared to $548 million for the 2012 period, an increase of $9.2 million.
• Station and other operating expenses were $135.3 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2013, compared to $134.6 million for the same period in 2012.
• Income generated by the sale of RINs were $31.8 million compared to $5 million in the 2012 period.
• During the current period, 42 million RINs were sold at an average selling price of $0.75 per RIN.
• Murphy USA has opened 21 retail locations in 2013 with six opening in the last quarter.
Murphy USA (NYSE: MUSA), which began trading as a standalone company on Sept. 3, 2013, has seen its shares trade between $36.12 and $44.42 during the past two-and-a-half months. The stock closed on Thursday at $42.14 per share.