On May 31, Motley Fool Income Investor pick Heinz (NYSE:HNZ) released earnings for the fourth quarter ended May 2.

  • See what happened at Heinz in the ketchup department.
  • The company raised its dividend by 16.7% compared with the previous year.
  • During the quarter, Heinz continued a two-year growth plan for reduced expenses and increased marketing for Ore-Ida frozen potatoes and Weight Watchers frozen dinners.
  • For fiscal 2008, Heinz forecasts sales growth of around 4%, operating income growth of 7% to 9%, and an EPS of $2.54 to $2.60.
  • The company is rated two stars by the Motley Fool CAPS community, while other food stocks like Unilever (NYSE:UL) and Kellogg (NYSE:K) are rated higher. To see why, join CAPS for free today.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data.)

Income Statement Highlights

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change

Sales

$2,414.3

$2,399.7

0.6%

Net Profit*

$181.0

$167.9

7.8%

EPS

$0.56

$0.50

12.0%

Diluted Shares

327.8

337.5

(2.9%)

*Includes income from discontinued operations

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change*

Gross Margin

38.2%

33.6%

4.6

Operating Margin

15.2%

10.3%

4.9

Net Margin

7.5%

7.0%

0.5

*Expressed in percentage points

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

The data wasn't available.

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change

Cash From Ops.

$672.6

$572.0

17.6%

Capital Expenditures

$94.0

$79.6

18.2%

Free Cash Flow

$578.6

$492.5

17.5%

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

Related Foolishness:

Heinz and Unilever are both Income Investor picks. To find other great dividend-paying companies, take a free 30-day trial to the newsletter service today.

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.