Sunoco's Seen Sunnier Days: Fool by Numbers

On Jan. 31, 2007, Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended Dec. 31, 2006.

• Net profit declined by 57.1%, primarily on lower margins and production in the refining and supply segment.
• The company continued to execute its ongoing share reduction program by repurchasing 2.1 million shares during the quarter. Diluted shares fell almost 10%.
• Sunoco earned a three-star rating in Motley Fool CAPS, our community intelligence database.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Sales	$9,036.0	$9,270.0	(2.5%)
Net Profit	$123.0	$287.0	(57.1%)
EPS	$1.00	$2.12	(52.8%)
Diluted Shares	122.7	135.6	(9.5%)

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

Margin Checkup

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change*
Gross Margin	6.7%	9.7%	(3.0)
Operating Margin	2.4%	5.2%	(2.9)
Net Margin	1.4%	3.1%	(1.7)

*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.	$263.0	$919.0	(71.4%)
Accounts Rec.	$2,440.0	$1,754.0	39.1%
Inventory	$1,219.0	$799.0	52.6%

Liabilities	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Accounts Payable	$4,174.0	$3,656.0	14.2%
Long-Term Debt	$1,705.0	$1,234.0	38.2%

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

	YTD 2006	YTD 2005	Change
Cash From Ops.	$984.0	$2,069.0	(52.4%)
Capital Expenditures	$1,019.0	$970.0	5.1%
Free Cash Flow	($35.0)	$1,099.0	N/A

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

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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 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.