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Casey's Reports Solid First Quarter

ANKENY, Iowa-(Business Wire)-September 3, 2008 - Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq: CASY) today reported earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.57 for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 ended July 31, 2008. Total sales rose 22.4% from the previous first quarter to $1.6 billion, and gross profit increased 5.7% to $199 million. “The results include a charge of $2.6 million related to flood damages. If these costs were eliminated, our earnings would have exceeded the record high $0.59 we reported a year ago,” said President and CEO Robert J. Myers. “We achieved excellent growth in a challenging economy, and our results give us a solid start toward our fiscal 2009 performance goals.”

Gasoline—Casey’s annual goal is to increase same-store gasoline gallons sold 2% with an average margin of 10.8 cents per gallon. The quarter’s same-store gallons sold were up .5% with an average margin of 15.6 cents per gallon, close to the previous first quarter’s all-time high of 15.8 cents. The average retail price per gallon was $3.77, up 26.1% from the same period a year ago. Myers stated, “Customer counts remained positive, but high retail prices continued to have an impact on gallons sold.” Total gallons sold rose to 317.9 million from 313.4 million; gross profit was $49.6 million compared with $49.5 million.

Grocery & Other Merchandise—The Company’s goal is to increase same-store sales 7% with an average margin of 33.2%. The quarter’s same-store sales were up 4.7%, total sales were up 5.5% to $274 million, and the average margin was above goal at 34%. Gross profit rose 5.7% to $93.3 million. “Despite increased cost pressures, we were able to maintain the margin we achieved the previous first quarter,” said Myers. “We were encouraged by the traffic inside our stores, especially in light of the adverse weather that held back sales in the first part of the quarter.”

Prepared Food & Fountain—The goal is to increase same-store sales 6.8% with an average margin of 61.2%. Same-store sales were up 12.3%, total sales rose 13.4% to $85.6 million, and the average margin was 60.5%. “Casey’s prepared foods are destination items for our customers, and we make sure our warmers are full of the products they want when they want them,” Myers stated. “Higher prices for cheese and other commodities affected our margin; nevertheless, we increased gross profit 11.3% to $51.8 million. We are confident of our core strategies for managing this category. We will continue to test new menu offerings and marketing initiatives throughout the year and use point-of-sale data to assess their impact.”

Operating Expenses—Though credit card fees rose over 34%, the Company held its increase in operating expenses to 8.9%. “Without the flood damages, operating expenses would have been up only 6.8%,” said Myers. “We are pleased that our ongoing focus on containing costs is keeping the increase in single digits.”

Expansion—The goal for fiscal 2009 is to increase the total number of Casey’s stores 4%. By the end of the first quarter, the Company had opened 7 stores. All of the openings were acquisitions of existing stores.

“We know acquisitions are a cost-effective way to grow, and we will continue to pursue these opportunities,” Myers stated. “New-store construction will accelerate in the coming months as we roll out our new store design, developed specifically to accommodate more customer traffic, make our service areas more appealing, and enhance the sale of high-margin items.”

Dividend—At its September meeting, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, reflecting the increase approved in June. The dividend is payable November 17, 2008 to shareholders of record on November 3, 2008.

Certain statements in this news release, including any discussion of management expectations for future periods, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by those statements. 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.

Corporate information is available at this Web site: http://www.caseys.com. Earnings will be reported during a conference call on September 4, 2008. The call will be broadcast live over the Internet at 9:30 a.m. CT via the Investor Relations section of our Web site and will be available in an archived format.

Casey’s General Stores, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) (Unaudited)
			Three months ended July 31,
				2008								2007
Total revenue			$	1,565,724							$	1,279,342
Cost of goods sold (exclusive of depreciation and amortization, shown separately below)				1,366,701								1,090,993
Gross profit				199,023								188,349
Operating expenses				132,579								121,714
Depreciation and amortization				17,462								16,196
Interest, net				2,563								2,345
Earnings from continuing operations before income taxes and loss on discontinued operations				46,419								48,094
Federal and state income taxes				17,624								18,143
Earnings from continuing operations before loss on discontinued operations				28,795								29,951
Loss on discontinued operations, net of tax benefit of $7 and $112				10								175
Net earnings			$	28,785							$	29,776
Basic
Earnings from continuing operations before loss on discontinued operations			$	.57							$	.59
Loss on discontinued operations				——								——
Net earnings			$	.57							$	.59
Diluted
Earnings from continuing operations before loss on discontinued operations			$	.57							$	.59
Loss on discontinued operations				——								——
Net earnings			$	.57							$	.59

Casey’s General Stores, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
			July 31,					April 30,
			2008					2008
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents		$	171,470				$	154,523
Receivables			20,938					16,662
Inventories			139,306					124,503
Prepaid expenses			9,955					9,817
Income taxes receivable			————					7,751
Total current assets			341,669					313,256
Other assets, net of amortization			9,317					8,898
Goodwill			49,208					48,308
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $609,957 at July 31, 2008, and of $595,316 at April 30, 2008			856,748					848,738
Total assets		$	1,256,942				$	1,219,200
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Current liabilities
Current maturities of long-term debt		$	34,932				$	34,383
Accounts payable			175,798					163,343
Accrued expenses			64,038					61,373
Income taxes payable			4,255					————
Total current liabilities			279,023					259,099
Long-term debt, net of current maturities			169,629					181,443
Deferred income taxes			108,613					105,959
Deferred compensation			10,610					10,201
Other long-term liabilities			15,730					15,026
Total liabilities			583,605					571,728
Total shareholders' equity			673,337					647,472
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity		$	1,256,942				$	1,219,200

Sales and Gross Profit by Product
(Amounts in thousands)
		Gasoline				Grocery & Other Merchandise				Prepared Food & Fountain				Other				Total
Three months ended
7/31/08
Sales		$	1,199,966			$	274,049			$	85,565			$	6,144			$	1,565,724
Gross profit		$	49,580			$	93,288			$	51,805			$	4,350			$	199,023
Margin			4.1	%			34.0	%			60.5	%			70.8	%			12.7	%
Gasoline gallons			317,873

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