Aeropostale Takes Wing: Fool by Numbers

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On March 15, 2007, Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended Feb. 3, 2007.

• Sales rose 16.4%, thanks to strong brand-building initiatives and an improved merchandise mix.
• Aeropostale improved the profitability associated with those growing sales as margins increased across the board.
• Management expects EPS between $0.19 and $0.21 in the first fiscal quarter of 2007, with a total increase of 20% for all of fiscal 2007.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Sales	$506.8	$435.2	16.4%
Net Profit	$57.3	$41.8	37.0%
EPS	$1.08	$0.76	42.1%
Diluted Shares	52.9	55.1	(4.1%)

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change*
Gross Margin	37.2%	33.5%	3.7
Operating Margin	18.0%	15.7%	2.3
Net Margin	11.3%	9.6%	1.7

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Cash + ST Invest.	$276.3	$225.3	22.6%
Inventory	$101.5	$91.9	10.4%

Liabilities	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Accounts Payable	$63.9	$57.2	11.8%

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights
Looks like Aeropostale's cash flow statement got lost in the airmail.

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

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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.