The Pantry announced Tuesday the purchase of 66 convenience stores in North and South Carolina.
The Sanford-based company said it has agreed to buy the stores from Petro Express Inc. following months of negotiations. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
55 of the stores are located in North Carolina, and another 11 are in South Carolina. The stores generated revenue of approx. $629 million during the 12 months ended October 2006.
Additionally, Pantry officials agreed to buy the wholesale fuel business of Carolina Petroleum Distributors of Charlotte, which sells more than 100 million gallons of fuel to more than 450 customers annually.
The latest acquisitions bring the total number of stores that The Pantry has acquired in fiscal 2007 to 133. The transaction is expected to close in the fiscal third quarter. The Pantry’s 2007 fiscal year began Sept. 29.
Also Tuesday, The Pantry reiterated that it expects its fiscal 1st quarter earnings to be significantly below the previous year’s. Peter J. Sodini, The Pantry’s CEO and chairman, blamed the expected lower earnings on an average gasoline margin per gallon of just over 8 cents - well below historic averages. Sodini did say gasoline margins have been closer to normal during the past few weeks.
The Panty’s fiscal 1st quarter ended Dec. 28, 2006. Despite the projected drop in profit. the company’s shares were up almost 3% to $49.63 in late morning trading Tuesday.
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