Avery Dennison, Steady and Stable: Fool by Numbers

On Jan. 23, Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY  ) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended Dec. 30.

• For the full rundown on Avery Dennison's earnings, take a look at this article by Steven Mallas.
• Net sales increased by 3.5%, with 2% growth in organic sales.
• The company expects GAAP earnings for 2007 to be in the range of $3.90 to $4.30 per share.
• Avery Dennison is currently rated a three-star stock in the Motley Fool CAPS stock-rating database. Click here to add your opinion to the community.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Sales	$1,411.4	$1,364.0	3.5%
Net Profit*	$101.9	$57.1	78.5%
EPS*	$1.01	$0.57	77.2%
Diluted Shares	100.4	100.4	0.0%

*From continuing operations

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

Margin Checkup

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change*
Gross Margin	27.6%	27.8%	(0.2)
Operating Margin	9.0%	9.4%	(0.4)
Net Margin	7.2%	4.2%	3.0

*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.	$58.5	$98.5	(40.6%)
Accounts Rec.	$910.2	$863.2	5.4%
Inventory	$471.8	$439.7	7.3%

Liabilities	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Accounts Payable	$630.1	$577.9	9.0%
Long-Term Debt	$501.6	$723.0	(30.6%)

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

	YTD 2006	YTD 2005	Change
Cash From Ops.	$511.0	$441.6	15.7%
Capital Expenditures	$161.9	$162.5	(0.4%)
Free Cash Flow	$349.1	$279.1	25.1%

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related companies:

• Sonoco Products (NYSE: SON  )
• Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO  )

Related Foolishness:

• Don't Rubber-Stamp Avery Dennison
• Build Your Dividend Dynasty
• Is Lumber the New Gold?

Sonoco is an Income Investor pick. Discover more great dividend-paying stocks with a free 30-day trial.

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.