Page 1

May 13 , 2021 ARKO GPM A Family of Community Brands INVESTMENTS ARKO Reports First Quarter 2021 Financial Results Operating Income Increases $ 21.2 million ( + 265 % ) RICHMOND , Va . , May 13 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- ARKO Corp. ( Nasdaq : ARKO ) ( " ARKO " or the " Company " ) , a growing leader in the U.S. convenience store industry , today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31 , 2021 . First Quarter 2021 Key Highlights • Operating income of $ 13.2 million for the quarter versus an operating loss of $ 8.0 million in first quarter of 2020 • Net loss for the quarter of $ 14.7 million compared to a net loss of $ 12.9 million for the first quarter 2020 • Net loss for first quarter 2021 includes $ 12.1 million for interest expense primarily related to non - cash fair value adjustments for warrants along with one - time $ 4.5 million in additional interest for the early redemption of the Israeli Bonds ( Series C ) • Adjusted EBITDA of $ 42.3 million , an increase of $ 25.4 million , or 150 % , versus the prior year period , with Empire contributing approximately $ 13 million of the increase • Same store merchandise sales increase of 6.0 % compared to the prior year period while merchandise margin increased 130 basis points to 27.4 % from 26.1 % • Same store merchandise sales excluding cigarettes increase of 9.2 % compared to the prior year period • Eliminating the extra day in 2020 due to the leap year , same store merchandise sales increased by 7.2 % and same store merchandise sales excluding cigarettes increased by 10.4 % as compared to the first quarter of 2020 • Retail fuel margin cents per gallon increase of 22 % to 32.1 cents per gallon ; same store fuel gallons sold declined by 13.8 % • DoorDash delivery partnership continues its expansion , now operating in more than 625 , or nearly half , of all Company - operated stores • Empire added 14 new dealers during the quarter " We are pleased to report another quarter of strong financial results in spite of what remains a challenging operating environment a full year since the start of the pandemic , " said Arie Kotler , Chief Executive Officer of ARKO . " We continue making progress on several of our core growth initiatives , including having launched our remodel program , while at the same time , making solid headway on the Empire integration . In addition , we have continued to build upon our strong record of acquisitions through our planned purchase of approximately 60 sites from ExpressStop , and just recently , we announced an agreement with Oak Street Real Estate Capital , LLC under which they agreed to purchase up to $ 1 billion dollars in real