Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc : Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. announces its results for its fourth quarter and its fiscal year 2013

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD ANNOUNCES ITS RESULTS FOR ITS FOURTH QUARTER AND ITS FISCAL YEAR 2013Fiscal 2013

§ For fiscal 2013, diluted net earnings per share as adjusted for non-recurring items are US$3.32 compared to US$2.42 for fiscal 2012, an increase of 37.2% despite the fact that fiscal 2012 had an extra week.

Quarter

§ Diluted net earnings per share for the fourth quarter are US$0.77 compared to US$0.65 for the comparable period of the previous fiscal year, an increase of 18.5%. Excluding the non-recurring items from the two comparable quarters, diluted net earnings per share would have been US$0.61 compared to US$0.57 for the comparable period of the previous fiscal year, an increase of 7.0% despite the additional week in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012.

§ Same-store merchandise revenues up 0.1% in the U.S. and 0.9% in Canada. In the U.S., excluding tobacco products, the increase is 2.0% on a same-store basis.

§ Consolidated merchandise and service gross margin down 0.1% in the U.S. and up 0.2% in  Canada.

§ Same-store road transportation fuel volume up 1.1% in the U.S.

§ Road transportation fuel gross margin stood at US19.30¢ per gallon in the United States, at  US9.83¢ per litre in Europe and at Cdn6.01¢ per litre in Canada.

§ The growth in the quarter was partially hampered by the costs incurred in Europe for the establishment of a new IT infrastructure, the implementation of a new ERP system as well as by marketing expenses for the rollout of new initiatives to promote sales growth.

Laval, Quebec, Canada, July 9, 2013 - For its fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, which comprised12 weeks, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSX: ATD.A ATD.B) announces net earnings of $146.4 million, up $28.6 million or 24.3%, which equals $0.77 per share on a diluted basis, an increase of $0.12 per share or 18.5% over diluted net earnings per share of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 which comprised 13 weeks. Various non-recurring items affected the fourth quarter results, including $34.0 million in restructuring costs, a $19.4 million curtailment gain related to certain pension plans, a $6.8 million foreign exchange gain as well as an income tax recovery of $34.7 million related to the decrease in the income tax rates in Sweden. The results from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 included a non-recurring gain of $17.0 million on foreign exchange forward contracts. Excluding these non-recurring items as well as the negative goodwill and acquisition costs from both comparable quarter results, the diluted net earnings per share would have been $0.61 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 compared to $0.57 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. This represents an increase of 7.0% despite the additional week in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. This increase is mainly attributable to the contribution from acquisitions, to higher road transportation fuel margins, to the growing contribution of merchandise and service sales as well as to a lower income tax rate. These items, which contributed to the growth in net earnings, were partially offset by the increase in financial expenses attributable to the additional debt that Couche-Tard incurred to finance the acquisition of Statoil Fuel & Retail, by the negative impact of the thirteenth week in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 as well as by expenses Couche-Tard incurred to promote future growth and improve efficiency in Europe. The Corporation expects that these expenses will decrease over the course of the next quarters following the completion of these projects. All financial information is in US dollars unless stated otherwise.

"This fifth fiscal year posting an increase in net earnings was marked by a fourth quarter in which growth was slightly lower than the previous quarters, partly explained by less favourable weather conditions in several of our markets, but especially by higher expenses in Europe" declared Alain Bouchard, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Indeed, our European business units are working on several exciting projects aimed at creating value, including the establishment of a new IT infrastructure and the implementation of a new ERP system. These projects require important upfront efforts and investments, which increased expenses for the quarter and the fiscal year. In addition, we also incurred significant marketing expenses to support our new initiatives in Europe including "milesTM" our new signature fuel brand which promises to take our customers further for the same price as well as our "Coin Offer" program aimed at promoting our in-store value fresh food offering. We are very proud of these projects and initiatives which, according to preliminary data, seem to deliver the desired results. We are confident that these investments will contribute to achieving our goals of increasing sales and reducing costs in the upcoming quarters. Every day, we get closer to our synergies objective related to the acquisition of Statoil Fuel & Retail. Fiscal 2013 has been a year of analysis, learning and planning. We are now eager to begin fiscal 2014 which should be a year of execution and achievements" Mr. Bouchard concluded.

As for Raymond Paré, Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, he indicated: "Despite the fourth quarter's unfavourable weather and persistent uncertain economic conditions, our North American business units continued to create value through increased contribution from both merchandise and services and road transportation fuel while controlling expenses. In Europe, sales trends in recent months are encouraging following the implementation of new initiatives and the sharing of best practices. We also made adjustments to our integration plan using our benchmarking process. The results from all this work was presented, discussed and approved during our rigorous business planning process which by itself has been indicative of progress foreseen for this fiscal year. During this planning process, we also determined it was appropriate to record a restructuring provision in line with our integration plan. The process of implementing a new ERP system began with success in Sweden and the results so far are excellent. The implementation should continue to progress and be completed during the current fiscal year in all of our business units, which should help us achieve our cost reduction targets. In conclusion, we continue to improve our leverage. As at April 28, 2013, our adjusted net interest-bearing debt to adjusted EBITDAR ratio stood at 3.05: 1, a significant improvement compared to the ratio of 3.58: 1 recorded shortly after the acquisition of Statoil Fuel & Retail. Our objective is to continue to improve our financial flexibility to take advantage of potential opportunities".

Highlights of the Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2013 Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA ("Statoil Fuel & Retail")Synergies and cost reduction initiatives

Since the acquisition of Statoil Fuel & Retail, Couche-Tard has been actively working on identifying and implementing available synergies and cost reduction opportunities. Analysis shows that opportunities are numerous and promising. Some can be implemented immediately while others may take more time to implement since they require rigorous analysis and planning. The goal is to find the right balance not to jeopardize ongoing activities and projects already underway.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, Couche-Tard recorded synergies and cost savings estimated at approximately $11.0 million before income taxes, for a total of $28.0 million in fiscal 2013. These synergies and cost reductions mainly reduced cost of sales as well as operating, selling, administrative and general expenses. The amount was determined by comparison with the reference period which was defined as Statoil Fuel & Retail's last full fiscal year previous to the acquisition (fiscal year 2011 ended December 31, 2011), but it does not necessarily represent the full annual impact of these initiatives.

These synergies and cost reductions came from a variety of sources, such as cost reduction following the delisting of Statoil Fuel & Retail, the renegotiation of certain agreements with suppliers, the reduction in store costs, the restructuring of certain departments, etc.

The synergies and costs savings Couche-Tard recorded during the fiscal year were more than offset by expenses incurred for projects aimed at creating value in Europe, including the implementation of a new IT infrastructure, the rollout of an Enterprise Resource Planning ("ERP") system and marketing costs. The implementation of the new IT infrastructure and ERP system are aimed at making Couche- Tard's European operations more efficient and should therefore help the Corporation achieve its cost reduction goals. In June 2013, the Corporation successfully completed the first phase of the new ERP system rollout, going live in Sweden, one of its largest business units in Europe. Preliminary results were very positive. Couche-Tard expects the rollout to be completed during fiscal year 2014 in all of its business units in Europe. IT costs, including service fees paid to Statoil ASA, Statoil Fuel & Retail's former parent company, should go down progressively along with the completion of these projects over the course of the next quarters. As for marketing costs, they were incurred during the fourth quarter to support the Corporation's new initiatives in Europe aimed at boosting sales, including "milesTM", Couche-Tard's new signature fuel brand as well as "Coin Offer", a new in-store program to promote its value fresh food offering. The "milesTM" family of fuels differentiates itself by promising to take Couche-Tard's customers up to 3% further for the same price, while the "milesTM PLUS " premium offer takes them further and enhances their engines' performance. "MilesTM" world premiere in Sweden and the Baltics in the fourth quarter attracted great consumer and media interest, with Sweden's leading independent motoring magazine validating the Corporation's claims for the benefits of its "milesTM" fuel. Couche-Tard looks forward to seeing the overall results as the brand is rolled out across all its European markets during fiscal 2014. Preliminary data show that these two these new programs seem to deliver the expected results.

The work for the identification and implementation of available synergies and cost reduction opportunities is far from over for the Corporation. Its teams continue to work actively on various projects that seem promising and which, along with the implementation of new systems and marketing initiatives, should allow the Corporation to achieve its objectives. Couche-Tard therefore maintains its goal of annual synergies ranging from $150.0 million to $200.0 million before the end of December 2015.

Restructuring

As part of its cost reduction initiatives and the search for synergies aimed at improving its efficiency, Couche-Tard made the decision to proceed with the restructuring of certain activities of Statoil Fuel & Retail. As such, a restructuring provision of $34.0 million was recorded to fiscal 2013 earnings in line with its plans and the budget process.

Curtailment gain on certain defined benefits pension plans obligation

In connection with the planned restructuring of Statoil Fuel & Retail's operations, Couche-Tard recorded to earnings a $19.4 million non-recurring curtailment gain related to certain defined benefits pension plans with a corresponding offset to the defined benefit pension plan obligation.

Purchase price allocation and adjustments to results previously reported

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, Couche-Tard made adjustments to the purchase price allocation of Statoil Fuel & Retail. The results of the first three quarters of fiscal 2013 have been adjusted assuming that the adjustments to the purchase price allocation of Statoil Fuel & Retail had been completed at the acquisition date. In addition, the Corporation has made changes to the classification of certain components of Statoil Fuel & Retail's statements of earnings in order to conform to Couche-Tard's presentation. The following table summarizes the impact of these adjustments.