Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSX:ATD.B) is boosting its quarterly dividend by nearly 26% even as its net earnings decreased in its latest quarter.
The Quebec-based convenience store operator says it will pay a dividend of $0.11 per share, up from $0.875 previously.
Couche-Tard earned $694.8 million U.S. or $0.65 U.S. per share in the second quarter of its fiscal year, down from $757 million U.S. or $0.68 U.S. per share a year earlier.
Reporting in U.S. dollars, revenues increased 33.5% to $14.22 billion U.S. from $10.66 billion U.S. in the year earlier quarter, mainly due to higher fuel prices.
Couche-Tard was expected to report $0.66 U.S. per share in profits on $14 billion U.S. of revenues, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.
Merchandise revenues increased 5.8% to $4 billion U.S. with a 1.4% increase in the U.S. same-store revenues, a 3.9% gain in Europe and other regions, and a 2.1% decrease in Canada.
