Putting on the Ritz at Abercrombie & Fitch: Fool by Numbers

On Feb. 21, Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF  ) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended Feb. 3.

• Total revenues increased 18% despite decline in comparable stores sales by 3%.
• The company plans to add six Abercrombie & Fitch stores, 67 Hollister stores, 27 new abercrombie stores, and 10 RUEHL stores, increasing gross square footage by 12% for 2007.
• In Motley Fool CAPS, 396 out of the 457 investors who've rated the company think Abercrombie will outperform the S&P 500. Come let us know what you think.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Sales	$1,138.7	$961.4	18.4%
Net Profit	$198.2	$164.6	20.4%
EPS	$2.14	$1.80	18.9%
Diluted Shares	92.6	91.3	1.4%

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

Margin Checkup

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change*
Gross Margin	66.4%	66.5%	(0.2)
Operating Margin	27.1%	27.8%	(0.7)
Net Margin	17.4%	17.1%	0.3

*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.*	$529.8	$461.9	14.7%
Accounts Rec.	$43.2	$41.9	3.3%
Inventory	$427.4	$362.5	17.9%

*Marketable Securities are considered as short-term investments.

Liabilities	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Accounts Payable	$128.3	$145.3	(11.7%)
Long-Term Debt	$0	$0	n/a

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

Our in-house stock valuation professor would give Abercrombie a failing grade for not providing a cash flow statement with earnings.

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

• American Eagle Outfitters (Nasdaq: AEOS  )
• Guess? (NYSE: GES  )
• Urban Outfitters (Nasdaq: URBN  )
• Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD  )
• Ross Stores (Nasdaq: ROST  )

Related Foolishness:

• Abercrombie & Fitch's Little Secret
• Two Teen Retailing Ideas
• Abercrombie's November a Bit Too Cool

American Eagle Outfitters is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter selection. Limited Brands is an Income Investor recommendation.

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.