Annual Report 2006 CASEY'S GENERAL STORES, INC.



AT CASEY’S, WE BELIEVE OUR FREEDOM TO CHOOSE IS OUR MOST POWERFUL MARK OF DISTINCTION. THANKS TO THE INVESTMENTS WE’VE MADE IN OUR FUTURE, WE HAVE MORE OPTIONS THAN EVER FOR BUILDING CAPACITY AND PURSUING PROFITABLE GROWTH. WE THINK WE CAN SERVE YOU BEST BY MAKING CHOICES THAT BALANCE A DEEP RESPECT FOR OUR HISTORY WITH A BUSINESS-MINDED OPENNESS TO INNOVATION.
In the past several years, we have chosen to undertake transformational initiatives that have benefited our customers and increased our overall impact within the convenience store industry. Selecting the right people, the right strategies, and the right tools has made Casey’s one of the top 10 convenience store chains in the nation. The choices we made during fiscal 2006 allowed us to exceed all of our operations goals and raise earnings per share from continuing operations to an all-time high of $1.25. We served over 325 million customers in our 9-state region, raised sales 25.4% to $3.5 billion, and increased total gross profit 15.2% to $527 million, results that won us increased visibility in the investment community.	Managing our gasoline business required steadiness in an extremely unstable environment. I have been with Casey’s since 1970, and I cannot recall a more roller-coaster year. Our same-store gallons sold were up 12.7% in August and off 1.5% in March; margins ranged from 14.1 cents per gallon in the second quarter to 9.2 cents in the third. When we averaged the ups and downs at fiscal year-end, annual same-store gallons sold were up 4.4%—more than twice our 2% goal—and the margin was above our 10.5-cent goal at 11.5 cents per gallon. We were opportunistic in terms of buying, refined our efficient call and haul delivery system, and remained faithful to our longstanding policy of pricing with the local competition.