Petro sees high sales, low margins

Petro Stopping Centers swung a loss in the first quarter, despite a sizable revenue jump on rising fuel prices and demand. Petro’s revenue jumped 43.1% to $517 million—yet took a net loss of $484,000 compared with a profit of nearly $1 million in 1Q 2005.

The company blamed the disappointing results on lower margins per gallon. Its truckstop network is now comprised of 64 facilities in 31 states, with 42 of them company-operated and the remaining 22 franchises.