The Pantry reported a wider net loss in the second quarter as the convenience store chain was hurt by higher gasoline prices.

The company had a loss of $9.7 million, or 43 cents, a share, compared with a loss of $300,000, or 1 cent a share, during the second quarter of 2011.

After excluding impairment charges and loss on extinguishment of debt, the company's net loss was $6.7 million, or 30 cents per share, compared to a gain of 1 cent per share in the prior year.

That was better than the 37 cents a share loss that Wall Street analysts predicted.

The Pantry has more than 1,600 stores throughout the Southeast, primarily under the Kangaroo Express brand.

Comparable store merchandise sales at those stores increased 4.8 percent in the quarter and total merchandise gross profit for the quarter was $145.4 million, up $400,000 from the second quarter a year ago.

While The Pantry sold about the same amount of fuel in the quarter as the year prior, its fuel gross profit decreased 30 percent in the quarter. Retail fuel margin per gallon fell to $0.096 from $0.137 a year ago.

The average retail fuel price per gallon was about 20 percent higher in the second quarter than in the same period in 2011.

"We were pleased with our positive comparable store merchandise sales and fuel gallon trends within the quarter," CEO Dennis Hatchell said in a statement.

"Fuel gross profit was negatively impacted by consistently rising wholesale fuel costs, which was partially offset by our ongoing expense management efforts."

He added that the company continues to reduce its debt, having repaid $94 million this year.

The Pantry reported fourth quarter results this morning that were below analyst expectations, as the Cary convenience store chain continued to face sluggish merchandise sales at its stores.

Excluding one-time charges, the Cary convenience store chain reported net income of $8.4 million, or 37 cents a share, compared to 43 cents a share during the same period a year ago.

Net income for the fiscal year 2011 was $17.5 million  or $0.78 per share, compared to earnings per share of $0.97 in the prior year.

That was below 99 cents per share, the consensus among analysts who follow the company.

The Pantry has more than 1,600 stores throughout the Southeast, primarily under the Kangaroo Express brand. Merchandise sales at those stores decreased .8 percent in the fourth quarter, compared to a 7.7 percent increase during the same period a year ago.

For the year, merchandise sales were down .2 percent.

In a statement, interim CEO Edwin Holman said next year would be a transitional period for the company and that actions are needed to improve comparable store sales.

He also said the company would focus on a pricing strategy that is intended to both improve merchandise sales and align gasoline volumes with industry trends.