Alimentation Couche-Tard Announces its Results for its Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2020.

LAVAL, QC: For its second quarter ended October 13, 2019, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSX: ATD.A) (TSX: ATD.B) announces net earnings attributable to shareholders of the Corporation of $578.6 million, representing $0.51 per share on a diluted basis. The results for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 were affected by a pre-tax net foreign exchange gain of $11.8 million, pre-tax restructuring costs of $1.9 million, pre-tax acquisition costs of $0.8 million, as well as a tax benefit from the second tranche of the asset exchange with CAPL of which $0.7 million is attributable to shareholders of the Corporation. The results for the comparable quarter of fiscal 2019 were affected by a net tax benefit of $6.2 million stemming from the decrease of the statutory income tax rate in Sweden, a pre-tax compensatory payment to CAPL for the divesture of assets of $5.0 million, pre-tax restructuring costs of $4.8 million, a pre-tax net foreign exchange gain of $3.7 million, as well as pre-tax acquisition costs of $0.7 million. Excluding these items, the adjusted diluted net earnings per share would have been $0.511 for the second quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with $0.411 for the second quarter of fiscal 2019, an increase of 24.4%, driven by higher road transportation fuel margins in the U.S. and organic growth across our three geographic segments, partly offset by a higher income tax rate, as well as by the net negative impact from the translation of our Canadian and European operations into US dollars. All financial information is in US dollars unless stated otherwise.

Net earnings attributable to shareholders of the Corporation ("net earnings") of $578.6 million ($0.51 per share on a diluted basis) for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 compared with $473.1 million ($0.42 per share on a diluted basis) for the second quarter of fiscal 2019. Excluding certain items for both comparable periods, net earnings for the quarter would have been approximately $571.0 million1 or $0.511 per share on a diluted basis, compared with $0.411 per share on a diluted basis for the second quarter of fiscal 2019, an increase of 24.4%.

Total merchandise and service revenues of $3.5 billion, an increase of 2.3%. Same-store merchandise revenues increased by 3.2% in the U.S., by 3.3% in Europe and by 2.1% in Canada.

Merchandise and service gross margin decreased in the U.S. and in Canada by 0.4% and 1.1% to 33.9% and 32.6% respectively, the decrease in Canada is entirely...