By
Anders Bylund
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More Articles
November 7, 2006
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On Nov. 7, satellite TV service provider EchoStar (Nasdaq: DISH ) released third-quarter 2006 earnings for the period ending Sept. 30, 2006.
- The sales growth didn't translate into profits, thanks to higher cost of sales and a hefty increase in tax payments. The company added another million subscribers in the interim for a total of 12.8 million, and they don't come cheap.
- The fatter cash balance looks good, until you realize that there's an increase in long-term debt. But free cash flow is at least positive -- satellite TV is just a very capital-intensive line of business.
- You have to appreciate generous share buybacks like EchoStar's. Decreasing your share count by nearly 8% in a year is a very shareholder-friendly thing to do.
(Figures in millions, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights
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Avg. Est.
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Q3 2006
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Q3 2005
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Change
|
|
Sales
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$2,440
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$2,471.4
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$2,128.2
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16.1%
|
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Net Profit
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--
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$139.6
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$208.9
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(33.2%)
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EPS
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$0.38
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$0.31
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$0.43*
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(32.6%)
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Diluted Shares
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|
446.4
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483.8
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(7.7%)
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*as calculated
Get back to basics with a look at the income statement.
Margin Checkup
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Q3 2006
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Q3 2005
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Change*
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Gross Margin
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46.69%
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48.07%
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(1.38)
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Operating Margin
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11.40%
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13.71%
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(2.31)
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Net Margin
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5.65%
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9.81%
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(4.16)
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*Expressed in percentage points.
Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.
Balance Sheet Highlights
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Assets
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Q3 2006
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Q3 2005
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Change
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Cash + ST Invest.
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$2,788.2
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$1,517.5
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83.7%
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Accounts Rec.
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$582.9
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$471.0
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23.8%
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Inventory
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$268.1
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$236.3
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13.5%
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Liabilities
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Q3 2006
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Q3 2005
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Change
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Accounts Payable
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$299.1
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$290.4
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3.0%
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Long-Term Debt
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$6939.4
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5905.2
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17.5%
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Learn the ways of the balance sheet.
Cash Flow Highlights
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Q3 2006
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Q3 2005
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Change
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Cash From Ops.
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$557.9
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$504.6
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10.6%
|
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Capital Expenditures
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$376.9
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$315.2
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19.6%
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Free Cash Flow
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$181.0
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$189.4
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(4.4%)
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Find out why Fools always follow the money.
Related Companies:
- DirecTV Group (NYSE: DTV )
- Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA )
- Time Warner (NYSE: TWX )
Related Foolishness:
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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 checkFool.com for more of our in-depth discussion of what the numbers mean.
At the time of publication,Fool contributorAnders Bylund had no position in any company mentioned. Fool rules are here.
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