On April 19, pool-supply distributor Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) released its first-quarter earnings for the period ended March 31.

  • Same-store sales grew 4% for the quarter, and sales from a recent acquisition added the remaining growth. I'll throw the company a life preserver here, since winter's not the most brisk season for pool supplies.

  • Increased costs from opening new sales centers -- while expanding and relocating others -- put a 200-basis-point dent in operating margins. Hopefully, those investments will pay off down the road.

  • I couldn't find any direct, publicly traded competitors for the three-star-rated company in CAPS. That may be a good thing, considering the company's highly fragmented market.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Sales

$373.7

$348.6

7.2%

Net Profit

$1.4

$6.4

(78.1%)

EPS

$0.03

$0.12

(75%)

Diluted Shares

52.5

55.4

(5.2%)

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change*

Gross Margin

27.7%

28.1%

(0.4)

Operating Margin

2.3%

4.3%

(2.0)

Net Margin

0.4%

1.8%

(1.5)

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$30.6

$6.0

413.4%

Accounts Rec.

$231.0

$211.6

9.2%

Inventory

$413.2

$406.3

1.7%

Liabilities

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Accounts Payable

$325.4

$267.3

21.7%

Long-Term Debt

$253.2

$155.2

63.2%

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

YTD 2007

YTD 2006

Change

Cash From Ops.

($13.3)

($60.7)

N/A

Capital Expenditures

 ($3.3)

($3.4)

N/A

Free Cash Flow

($16.6)

($64.1)

N/A

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

We haven't written much on the company, but it sure seems impressive:

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.

At the time of publication, retail editor David Meier did not own stock in any of the companies mentioned. Fool rules are here.