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 a net loss of $2.9 million, or 13 cents a share, in the first quarter this morning.

That was a smaller loss than the $12.2 million, or 54 cents a share that the Cary-based convenience store chain reported in last year's first quarter.

Excluding impairment charges and loss on extinguishment of debt, the net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was $2.6 million or $0.11 per share.

Interim CEO Edwin Holman said in a release that the company benefited from lower expenses and a better pricing environment.

"As we continue revising our pricing strategy to position the company for the longer term, we remain focused on improving our sales trends, expense management, and debt reduction.”

The Pantry has more than 1,600 stores throughout the Southeast, primarily under the Kangaroo Express brand. Merchandise sales at those stores increased 2 percent in the first quarter.

Edwin J. Holman, who takes over as interim CEO of The Pantry on Oct. 5, will be paid an annual salary of $700,000 a year, the Cary convenience-store chain disclosed in a regulatory filing Tuesday.

Holman is taking over for Terrance Marks, who announced last month that he was leaving The Pantry to become CEO of the Hooters restaurant chain in Atlanta. Marks received $1.5 million in compensation last year.

Holman has been a member of The Pantry's board of directors since October 2005. He took over as chairman of the board shortly after Marks was named CEO in September 2009.

Holman will also receive a restricted stock grant valued at $100,000.

Terrance M. Marks, The Pantry CEO whose has led the convenience-store chain’s aggressive turnaround strategy in recent years, is resigning to take a position in Atlanta.

The Cary-based company said in a release that Marks will depart within the next 60 days and be replaced on an interim basis by Edwin Holman, chairman of The Pantry’s Board of Directors.

Since taking over as CEO in September 2009, Marks had gotten generally high marks for his efforts to remodel some of The Pantry’s stores and add more fresh foods to its product offerings.

It will be important for The Pantry to find a replacement who can maintain that momentum, said Ben Brownlow, an analyst with Morgan Keegan.

“I think it does create some uncertainty,” Brownlow said. “Departing now isn’t the ideal time.”

Pantry officials declined to comment today beyond what was in the release.

Stung by high gasoline prices and high unemployment in many of its markets, The Pantry reported third quarter earnings Tuesday that missed Wall Street estimates.

The Cary-based convenience store chain, which has more than 1,600 stores throughout the Southeast, reported net income, excluding one-time charges, of $21 million, or 93 cents per share, compared to 89 cents per share during the same period a year ago.

That was below the consensus among analysts who follow the company of $1.22 per share.

Merchandise sales at Pantry stores decrease 1.5 percent, compared to a 7.7 percent increase during the same period a year ago.

Rising oil prices have been driving up the cost of gas, and consumers have responded by spending less on other things.

Sheetz’s expansion plans for North Carolina include opening a large distribution facility by 2014 to serve its increasing collection of convenience stores.

The Pennsylvania chain will begin looking for a location during the next six months, in a place that makes it easy to reach the Triangle and Triad, where most of its stores in this state are concentrated, CEO Stan Sheetz said in a phone interview today.

Sheetz will either buy an existing building, or build new, with at least 200,000 square feet to hold a distribution center, office facility and bakery.

The company expects to seek local or state incentives to help pay for the project, which will create about 200 jobs.

“You’d be crazy not to,” he added. “It’s a positive thing for North Carolina.”

Get ready for more Sheetz.

The Pennsylvania-based convenience-store chain is planning further expansion in North Carolina, with plans to open about 10 new stores a year in this state.

“We picked North Carolina because it has one of the fastest growing populations in the country and the weather is mild most of the year," vice president Joe Sheetz told the Altoona Monitor. "You also get a lot of long-distance commuters."

The Altoona, Pa.-based company has 394 stores, with more than half in Pennsylvania. The chain has plans to hit the 500 mark in three years, with North Carolina and West Virginia the prime targets for expansion.

Police have made 12 arrests after serving search warrants at five convenience stores and one grocery store as part of an operation targeting organized retail theft.

Acting on complaints about stolen goods being sold in certain stores, officers have conducted a three-month undercover operation. They learned that items were being shoplifted from retail stores and then re-sold at various convenience stores. The items included razors, beauty products, cigarettes and over-the-counter medicines.
 

Cary-based convenience store chain The Pantry managed to increase sales and profit during its fiscal third quarter, despite weaker demand for gasoline.

The company reported that revenue rose to $1.9 billion during the period that ended June 24, up about 16 percent from a year earlier. The Pantry sold more snacks, soda, cigarettes and other products inside its more than 1,600 stores in 11 states.

Net income rose to $18 million, or 80 cents a share, beating Wall Street estimates and reversing a loss last year. The company had bigger profit on fuel but has seen drivers buy less gas during the economic slump.

A company that sells petroleum equipment and services to convenience stores and other customers has relocated its corporate headquarters to Raleigh from Norfolk, Va.

Jones & Frank moved into new offices on St. Mary's Street about two weeks ago. Four executives made the move and CEO Sterling R. Baker said he expects to hire about 20 more people over the next 6-12 months.

The office will include the company's management team, accounting and IT employees, and others. Jones & Frank signed an eight-year lease on 5,000 square feet with the right to expand into another 3,000 to 4,000 square feet, Baker said.

The relocation fits with the company's operations along the East Coast, but Raleigh also is home for Baker, 41, who graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 1992.