The Brave Little Ann Taylor: Fool by Numbers (ANN)

The Brave Little Ann Taylor: Fool by Numbers

By Motley Fool Contributors | More Articles
March 19, 2007 | Comments (0)

On March 16, AnnTaylor Stores (NYSE: ANN ) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended Feb. 3.

Revenues improved by 6.3%, primarily led by 5% higher sales from the Loft division and an extra week versus the previous year's Q4. Same-store sales decreased 6%, compared to a 6.8% increase last year.
Operating margin declined to 5%, thanks to aggressive promotional activity at Loft, wide focus on clearing inventories, and a decline in sweater sales.
Management has given EPS guidance in the range of $2.15-$2.25 for fiscal 2007.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Sales	$610.5	$574.0	6.3%
Net Profit	$21.5	$27.4	(21.5%)
EPS	$0.31	$0.38	(18.4%)
Diluted Shares	70.4	72.8	(3.3%)

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change*
Gross Margin	47.6%	51.0%	(3.4)
Operating Margin	5.0%	7.5%	(2.5)
Net Margin	3.5%	4.8%	(1.3)

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Cash + ST Invest.	$360.6	$380.7	(5.3%)
Accounts Rec.	$16.5	$17.1	(3.5%)
Inventory	$233.6	$204.5	14.2%

Liabilities	Q4 2006	Q4 2005	Change
Accounts Payable	$106.5	$97.4	9.4%

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights
The company did not include a cash flow statement with its release.

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

Related Foolishness:

Gap is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick. Stock Advisor has recommended a number of fashion retailers. To see what they are, click here to take a free 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.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.