UAG Runs Like a Dream: Fool by Numbers

On May 8, United Auto Group (NYSE: UAG  ) released first-quarter earnings for the period ended March 31.

• Net sales grew 21.6%, led by a 10.8% increase in same-store retail revenues.
• The company sold more used vehicles in a very competitive sales environment. As a result, gross margin was eroded by 57 basis points.
• The company projects EPS from continuing operations to be in the range of $0.39-$0.43 and $1.40-1.50 for Q2 and fiscal 2007, respectively.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data.)

Income Statement Highlights

	Q1 2007	Q1 2006	Change
Sales	$3,103.2	$2,552.8	21.6%
Net Profit*	$16.1	$26.0	(38.2%)
EPS*	$0.17	$0.28	(39.3%)
Diluted Shares	94.4	94.3	0.1%

*Income from continuing operations

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

	Q1 2007	Q1 2006	Change*
Gross	15.1%	15.6%	(0.6)
	2.6%	2.6%	(0.1)
	0.5%	1.0%	(0.5)

*Expressed in percentage points

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets	Q1 2007	Q1 2006	Change
Cash + ST Invest.	$25.2	$16.1	56.2%
Accounts Rec.	$509.3	$397.8	28.0%
Inventory	$1,602.2	$1,370.3	16.9%

Liabilities	Q1 2007	Q1 2006	Change
Accounts Payable	$272.7	$298.6	(8.7%)
Long-Term Debt	$864.5	$684.7	26.3%

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

Did the cash flow statement drive off the lot? Management can't seem to find it.

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

Related Foolishness:

• Foolish Forecast: CarMax Rolls Over Wall Street
• CarMax Crashes?
• AutoNation Sputters

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.