Staying with the story
We will continue to provide unmatched coverage of local companies. We have reported extensively on Speedway’s recent acquisition of Hess Retail Holdings and its pledge to create 350 new jobs in the next three years. We’ll continue to cover Speedway and other companies that play a large role in the community.
Marathon Petroleum Corporation announced $855 in earnings in the second quarter of this year, and officials said Speedway is moving ahead with its $2.8 billion acquisition of Hess Retail Holdings.
Speedway, based in Enon, is a subsidiary of Marathon. Speedway officials recently announced the company would create 350 new jobs in Springfield and spend $9.1 million to purchase an office building at the NextEdge Applied Research Technology Park. The company also has plans to renovate its current headquarters in Enon.
Speedway recently received notice that the Federal Trade Commission has finished its review of the $2.8 billion acquisition of Hess, said Gery Heminger, CEO of Marathon. The deal, expected to close this fall, will provide long-term value to the company, he said. Speedway will grow to more than 2,700 stores and expand its footprint from nine to 23 states.
Overall, Speedway earned about $93 million from operations in the second quarter of this year, compared to $123 million at the same time last year. In part, the decrease in earnings in the Speedway segment was due to higher operating expenses because of an increase in the number of stores compared to last year.
However, Speedway’s merchandise sales, as well as the profit margin it earned on those sales, was higher than the same time last year.
Marathon’s overall earnings of $855 million, or $2.95 per share, is a significant gain from the second quarter of last year, when the company earned $593 million, or about $1.83 per share.
“We had an outstanding quarter, with our focus on top-tier operational performance across the MPC refining, marketing and transportation system continuing to yield excellent results,” Heminger said.
Earlier this year, Speedway announced it would spend $2.8 billion to acquire Hess Retail Holdings, one of the largest convenience store chains on the east coast. The deal will roughly double Speedway’s size, and expand its footprint along the east coast.
The company already has about 800 employees at its headquarters. Speedway will also receive tax incentives from Ohio as part of its pledge to create 350 new jobs. In return, the company pledged to create about $14 million in new annual payroll and must maintain a presence in Springfield for 13 years.
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