a fourth-quarter profit of US$670.7 million, up from US$477.7 million a year earlier as it both sold more gasoline and increased the range of food options at its stores.
There are likely more deals ahead, said Hannasch, estimating the company will do around four or five material deals for the year. Opportunities have increased as private equity should largely be on the sidelines, he said, as high interest rates squeeze some buyers. "So if you say, hey, tobacco is 30 per cent of sales and that there's zero or negative growth, you can do some math and say that the rest of the business is actually very strong."