On July 11, Chaparral Steel (NASDAQ:CHAP) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended May 31.

  • The company has agreed to be acquired by Gerdau Ameristeel (NYSE:GNA) for $4.2 billion, which shakes out to $86 a share.
  • Strong performance in domestic and international markets pushed sales forward by 20.5% to $489 million.
  • Our Motley Fool CAPS community seems to like Chaparral, giving it four stars out of a potential five. CAPS apparently favors steel in general, rating competitors Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) and Nucor (NYSE:NUE) four and five stars, respectively.

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

Income Statement Highlights

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change

Sales

$488.7

$405.5

20.5%

Net Profit

$80.2

$56.1

42.9%

EPS

$1.65

$1.16

42.2%

Diluted Shares

48.3

47.3

2.1%

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change*

Gross Margin

29.3%

25.7%

3.7

Operating Margin

26.9%

23.4%

3.6

Net Margin

16.4%

13.8%

2.6

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$443.4

$206.6

114.6%

Accounts Rec.

$190.5

$159.7

19.3%

Inventory

$206.8

$159.8

29.4%

Liabilities

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change

Accounts Payable

$74.8

$50.0

49.7%

Long-Term Debt

$300.0

$300.0

0%

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

YTD 2007

YTD 2006

Change

Cash From Ops.

$273.5

$260.8

4.8%

Capital Expenditures

$22.2

$16.4

35.1%

Free Cash Flow

$251.3

$244.4

2.8%

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

Related Foolishness:

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