Murphy USA Inc. of El Dorado (NYSE: MUSA) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter profit of $108.8 million, up more than 78% from the fourth quarter of 2020.
The gas station operator said it had net income of $4.23 per share, an increase of 96% compared to the same quarter a year earlier.
The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $3.68 per share.
Revenue was $4.77 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.66 billion.
For the year, the company reported profit of $396.9 million, or $14.92 per share. That's up from $386.1 million, or $13.08 per share, in 2020.
Revenue was reported as $17.36 billion.
It's Murphy USA's second straight year of record earnings, growth that President & CEO Andrew Clyde attributed to the company's low price business model. The company also generated over $1 billion in margin and merchandise sales.
Clyde said results were partially driven by QuickChek Corp., the New Jersey-based convenience store network Murphy USA acquired in February 2021 for $654 million. The purchase expanded Murphy USA's national reach to 1,650 stores.
"While 2021 was not without its challenges that drove costs higher and impacted new store activity, we believe our position as a low-cost leader enables us to thrive in an environment in which consumers are increasingly price sensitive," Clyde said in the company's earnings report. "We are focused on driving further process efficiencies in the core business to maintain our cost discipline."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
