Annual Report 2006 CASEY'S GENERAL STORES, INC.



“High retail prices in an unstable market did not seem to alter people’s driving habits, and we benefited from record volume. Total gallons sold were up 8.2%,” said Handley. Whatever the market environment, adherence to our long-time practice of pricing with local competition is always a priority. Store managers know the best way to keep Casey’s customers loyal is to make sure they won’t find a better price a few blocks or a few miles away. Not only do customers fill their tanks at our stores, they come inside to make additional purchases. Gasoline sales matter to our business as much for the cross-selling opportunities they present as for the revenue they generate.	Because we price with the competition, local market conditions have a significant impact on margin at the point of sale. We can and do influence margin results by making the best buys available to us in the wholesale market, transporting product as efficiently as possible, and making sure every store has the gasoline it needs when it needs it. Our average margin of 11.5 cents per gallon in fiscal 2006 reflected the markets in which we were operating and the efficiencies we achieved. A recent Forbes article featured Casey’s efficiencies, highlighting our ability to haul nearly three-quarters of the gas we sell in our own tankers and our state-of-the-art satellite system that transmits fuel-level data from every store to our corporate headquarters. The system allows us to integrate gasoline purchasing, dispatch, and transportation.