Sharp profit increase for TA truckstops

WESTLAKE, OH- Travel Centers of America LLC, parent to truckstop chains TA and Petro, has reported sharp profit increases for the final quarter of last year and for all of 2014.

Q4 net income jumped by 186.8 percent to $34.2 million from the same time in 2013, but Q4 revenue fell 9.5 percent to 1.7 billion.  

Net income for 2014 compared to 2013 surged 92.8 percent to $61 million while revenue slipped 2.1 percent to $7.8 billion.

“While the significant move in fuel product pricing during the second half of 2014 contributed to much of the year-over-year improvement with respect to TA’s fuel gross margins, we also remain committed to provide customers with competitively priced fuel and the nonfuel products and services necessary to support and enhance their travel experiences,” said Thomas O’Brien, CEO.

Travel Centers has:

• 174 Travel Centers of America locations;
• 76 Petro Stopping Centers;
• 34 convenience stores with retail gas stations, primarily under the Minit Mart brand name.

The company said its fuel revenue for the 2014 fourth quarter and year declined from the prior year periods primarily due to the sharp decline in market prices for fuel during the last five months of 2014. Nonfuel revenue for the 2014 fourth quarter increased by $46.8 million over the prior year quarter.

O’Brien commented: ” Our operating performance and growth opportunities have me more enthusiastic about TA’s prospects than I have been at any other time since I began working for the company.”