On Feb. 1, Cerner (NASDAQ:CERN), which makes health-care information software, released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended Dec. 31.

  • Sales and profits were up nicely, but operating cash flow decreased by 26%.
  • Management says new business bookings in the first quarter of 2007 should be about 12% higher than Q1 of 2006, and revenue growth should hit the 12% to 14% range.
  • Out of five stars, our Motley Fool CAPS players give Cerner three. Feel free to add your opinion!

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Sales

$380.8

$325.8

16.9%

Net Profit

$39.1

$27.4

43.0%

EPS

$0.48

$0.34

41.2%

Diluted Shares

82.3

80.8

1.8%



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

Margin Checkup

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change*

Gross Margin

76.6%

77.2%

(0.5)

Operating Margin

13.2%

14.2%

(1.0)

Net Margin

10.3%

8.4%

1.9

*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.

$308.8

$274.3

12.6%

Accounts Rec.

$361.4

$317.0

14.0%

Inventory

$18.1

$9.6

88.7%



Liabilities

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Accounts Payable

$79.7

$65.4

22.0%

Long-Term Debt

$187.4

$194.3

(3.5%)



Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Cash From Ops.

$69.0

$93.3

(26.0%)



Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related companies:

  • Emdeon (NASDAQ:HLTH)
  • TriZetto (NASDAQ:TZIX)
  • Merge (NASDAQ:MRGE)
  • Healthaxis (NASDAQ:HAXS)
  • NightHawk Radiology (NASDAQ:NHWK)

Related Foolishness:

Need new ideas for your money? Investors like you rate thousands of stocks on Motley Fool CAPS to help you with your own stock selections. It's fun --and it's free.

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.