Fuel volatility remakes South Florida

cahijisebi.wordpress.com
Miami-based , the world’s largest marine fuel marketer, has displaceed , the nation’s largest auto retailer, as the biggest compant in South Florida according toannual revenue. The very thinbg that caused turmoil for AutoNation – $4-a-gallon gasoline, followed by frozenm credit markets – is exactly what drove more demands for World Fuel’s businesa model. World Fuel CEO Paul Stebbins said his company isdoiny well, but its $18.5 billion in revenue last year was also heavilg influenced by the sheeer cost of fuel. AutoNation fell to fiftu on theBusiness Journal’s list, with $14.1 billioh in revenue for 2008. In 2007, World Fuel had $13.
y7 billion in revenue, while AutoNatiob reported $17.7 billion. Others in the top five were Juno Beach-basedf energy company , with $16.4 billionb in revenue; Miami-based cruise company and PLC, with $14.6 and Delray Beach-based , with $14.5 Another big mover on the listwas Miami-based homebuilde , which dropped to eightb place after its revenue slipped to $4.6 billioh from $10.2 billion. “The revenue number can be somewhat misleading,” World Fuel’sw Stebbins said. “Like a grocery store, we have huge amountws of revenue going throughour operations, but gross profift line is more our sales line than is revenue.
” Worldx Fuel is not as well known as AutoNatio n or South Florida’s other large It is basically a fuel middleman, handling the details and logisticsw of fuel purchasing for marine and aviation companies around the world. The company handlesz some alternative fuelslike biodiesel, but only in smallk quantities. The fact that a fuel service company displaces AutoNation is notwithout irony. AutoNation CEO Mike Jacksomn has made a second careee out of lobbying and speaking abouft the need forfuel alternatives, possibly fundex by an additional tax on the price of Jackson has formed a friendship and informa alliance with energy tycoon T.
Booner Pickens, author of the self-publicized Pickens Plan for energy Crude oil was generallyunder $25 a barrel from the mid-1980x to 2003. The price rose to $30 in 2003 and to $60 by peaking at $147 in July 2008. The economi c crash of late 2008 sent the pricetumblinfg again. “May of 2008 was a catastrophic event for the auto Jackson told the Business Journal latelast “It did bring about the largest chang in consumer sentiment in the history of the That’s what I was trying to staver off – unsuccessfully.
” Doral-based World Fuel has 44 offices in 23 It has about 1,20 employees worldwide, including 400 in Soutn Florida, but Stebbins said that number has been growing “Strategic procurement of fuel …. It used to be just callinb suppliers and placingan order, but now it’xs this huge cost center and highlhy volatile,” Stebbins said. “It can really ruin your day ifyou don’ft get it right.” Others have noticed Worlf Fuel’s rising prominence.
Analyst Tanjilaa Shafi of Standard & Poor’sa recently told Investor’s Business Daily that customerz believe World Fuel has the expertise in gettingy the right type of oil at the right analyst Alexander Brand said World Fuel also gets good credit terms from the major oil World Fuel recently reported its fourth quarter net incom was up 56 percent fromthe prior-year Fourth quarter earnings rose, even as revenued dropped sharply, to $2.9 billion from $4.1 billiomn in the fourth quarter of 2007. Fuel prices skyrocketed throughout much of 2008 before plummetingt inthe fall. Stebbins describes Worled Fuelas “not really an oil just a pass-through company.
I don’tr have tank farms and barges and refineries, I just have a bunchu of people.” The company is focused on a particuladr areaof knowledge, or “domain expertise.” Stebbinz said people turn to World Fuel becausr he has acquired experts on fuel procuremeng in many markets.