Malynda West
Analyst · Stephens
Thank you, Andrew. Firstly, let me apologize for my voice. This is not how I typically sound, but I'm trying to recover from an illness, which inconveniently coincided with this call. Revenue for the fourth quarter and full year 2018 was $3.5 billion and $14.4 billion, respectively. This compares to $3.4 billion and $12.8 billion in the year-ago period. These increases were largely attributable to higher retail gasoline prices, higher fuel volumes sold and higher merchandise sales. Average retail gasoline prices per gallon during the quarter were $2.34 versus $2.27 in 2017. And for the full year, retail gasoline prices were $2.48 per gallon versus $2.19 in 2017. Adjusted earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, was $148.9 million in the fourth quarter versus $99 million in 2017. And for the full year, adjusted EBITDA was $411.8 million this year versus $405.9 million last year. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was higher than the year ago period due to higher volumes, higher margins in addition to higher merchandise contribution. And for the full year, EBITDA was above the prior-year period due to higher volumes offsetting slightly lower margins and higher merchandise contribution dollars. However, due to the $89 million deferred tax benefit recorded in the fourth quarter of last year, net income and earnings per share for both the fourth quarter and the full year '18 are below the prior-year period. The effective tax rate for the fourth quarter was 22.9% and 22% for the full year. And going forward, we're planning on federal income tax rate of between 24% and 26%. Total debt on the balance sheet as of December 31, 2018, $862 million. Broken out as follows: Long-term debt of $842 million, consisting of $495 million carrying value of our notes due 2023, $296 million carrying value of the notes due 2027, $51 million remaining on our $200 million term loan. And in addition, we're carrying $20 million as expected amortization under the term loan in current liabilities on the balance sheet. These figures results an adjusted leverage ratio that we report to our vendors of approximately 1.85x. Our ABL facility remains in place with a $450 million cap subject to periodic borrowing base determination, currently limiting us to approximately $177 million as of the end of the year. And at the present time, that facility is undrawn. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $184.5 million at the end of the year, resulting in net debt of approximately $678 million. And there were 32.3 million common shares outstanding at the end of the quarter. Looking at CapEx. Capital expenditures for the quarter approximately $41 million, bringing our year-to-date expense to approximately $194 million. That total expense are below our guided range of $225 million to $275 million, primarily due to timing around various corporate initiatives. We will address our 2019 capital program in the guidance section later during the call. That concludes the financial update. So I will now turn it back to over to Andrew.