Dive Brief:
- Pilot Company’s full-year revenue last year dropped by $9.9 billion — a more than 17% decrease — compared to 2023, according to parent company Berkshire Hathaway’s annual report released on Saturday.
- In its report, Berkshire said Pilot’s losses were “primarily attributable to lower average fuel prices and a decline in volumes from non-core fuel activities.” Representatives from Pilot did not respond by press time when asked to clarify what “non-core fuel activities” referred to.
- This comes a few days after one of Pilot’s competitors, Murphy USA, also cited low fuel prices as a reason for its steep revenue declines in 2024, signaling that last year’s significant drop in gas prices may have blemished c-store retailers across the U.S.
Dive Insight:
Pilot has now experienced major revenue declines for two straight years. The travel center chain’s full-year revenue fell about 22% between 2022 and 2023, which Berkshire attributed to lower fuel prices, as well as lower fuel sales volumes and in-store sales.
In addition to its total revenue dropping, Pilot’s 2024 pre-tax earnings declined $442 million, or about 42%, compared to 2023, according to Saturday’s report. Its gross sales margins also dipped 4.3%, which Berkshire attributed to lower diesel margins from lower price volatility.
Despite significant losses, Pilot’s selling, general and administrative expenses increased 10.3% last year, which reflected “increased depreciation and amortization expenses, as well as labor, marketing and maintenance costs,” Berkshire said in its report.
These impacts come as Pilot, the largest travel center chain in the U.S. with over 670 locations across 44 states and five Canadian provinces, focuses on its $1 billion store remodeling program and rolling out hundreds of electric charging stations. It’s unclear if the company’s EV charging initiative is part of the company’s “non-core fuel activities.”
Berkshire said that Pilot sold approximately 11.4 billion gallons of fuel in 2024 through its company-owned retail locations, third-party arrangements and wholesale businesses. It did not release financial metrics for Pilot's merchandising or category-based assortments.
