While potential U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports will likely increase its supply costs, U.S. fuel distributor and retailer Global Partners' chief executive said they will not affect the company's growth plans.

In a call with analysts to discuss the Massachusetts-based company's fourth-quarter financial results, CEO Eric Slifka said U.S. tariffs may increase the cost of supply because the company's terminals in the Northeast "take a lot of products" from Canada. But he said the terminals have the ability to secure fuel from parts of the world, including the Caribbean and Europe.

He said that while the Trump administration's tariff policies may not be the "the best economic outcome ... for the consumer," Global is "going to make sure that the barrel gets supplied. It just might be a little bit more costly."

Slifka added that the potential tariffs would not affect the company's plans for acquisitions and investment.

"I hate to say it but it's positive for our business model. And I actually think it's one of the things that differentiates us versus our competitors."

Global Partners operates 54 terminals from Maine to Florida and into the Gulf Coast.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday said Trump has yet to decide whether to impose a proposed 10% tariff on Canadian energy imports that are set to take effect on Tuesday.

Chief Operating Officer Mark Romaine said some of the seven terminals in Texas the company acquired from Motiva have "real growth opportunities."

"I think it is an area that we're very interested in. We're going to keep focusing on that and other regions and look for opportunities to grow through acquisition, but also look for opportunities to grow organically," he said.

Global operates retail, terminaling and wholesale unbranded businesses in Houston. In addition, it owns and supplies more than 1,700 retail fuel stations in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Texas.

Romaine said the company expects to increase fuel volumes and merchandise sales at its retail sites in Houston that it acquired from Motiva.

"We're very focused on that region and I think we're positive about our opportunities down there," he said.

Global reported Q4 sales of $4.186 billion, down from $4.409 billion in the same period of 2024.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

   --Reporting by Frank Tang, ftang@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber,   jbarber@opisnet.com 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 03, 2025 13:32 ET (18:32 GMT)

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