On Jan. 19, coatings, glass, and chemical maker PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended Dec. 31.

  • A surge in the always exciting coating business helped lead a 10.7% increase in the revenues, as well as improved sales volumes in Europe and Asia.
  • Management is upbeat about the future impact of its 2006 acquisitions.
  • PPG carries a middle-of-the-road three-star rating in Motley Fool CAPS.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Sales

$2,773

$2,505

10.7%

Net Profit

$157

$113

38.9%

EPS

$0.94

$0.68

38.2%

Diluted Shares

166.5

167.1

(0.4%)



Get back to basics with a look at the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change*

Gross Margin

34.8%

34.1%

0.8

Operating Margin

9.8%

8.2%

1.6

Net Margin

5.7%

4.5%

1.2

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$455

$466

(2.4%)

Accounts Rec.

$2,168

$1,871

15.9%

Inventory

$1,390

$1,119

24.2%



Liabilities

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Accounts Payable*

$2,090

$1,776

17.7%

Long-Term Debt

$1,115

$1,169

(4.6%)

*Also includes accrued liabilities.

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

PPG management once again stiffed us on the cash flow statement.

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

  • Textron (NYSE:TXT)
  • Cooper Industries (NYSE:CBE)
  • Akzo Nobel (NASDAQ:AKZOY)
  • Visteon (NYSE:VC)
  • Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW)
  • 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Related Foolishness:

PPG is an Income Investor selection. 3M is an Inside Value recommendation.

Fool by Numbers is designed to give you the raw earnings information in a timely fashion, putting all the numbers you need in one easy-to-read place. But at The Motley Fool, we believe numbers tell only part of the story, so check Fool.com for more of our in-depth discussion of what the numbers mean. This data has been provided by Netscribes. To provide feedback on this article, please click on the "feedback" button below.