A Bland Quarter at Darden: Fool by Numbers (DRI)

A Bland Quarter at Darden: Fool by Numbers

By Motley Fool Contributors | More Articles
June 20, 2007 | Comments (0)

On June 19, Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI ) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended May 27.

The company suffered from the soft casual dining market, posting a meager 3.2% in sales.
The Olive Garden segment delivered same-store sales of 3.5%, while Red Lobster's same-store sales fell 2.2%.
Losses from discontinued operations totaling $1.05 per share resulted mainly from the decision to close Smokey Bones. Excluding the one-time charge, earnings would have been $0.67 per share.
Management projects 3% unit growth in fiscal 2008.

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

Income Statement Highlights

	Q4 2007	Q4 2006	Change
Sales	$1,459.8	$1,414.3	3.2%
Net Profit	($55.1)	$92.3	N/A
EPS	($0.38)	$0.60	N/A
Diluted Shares	145.9	153.8	(5.1%)

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q4 2007	Q4 2006	Change*
22.8%	23.5%	(0.7)
10%	10.6%	(0.6)
(3.8%)	6.5%	(10.3)

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets	Q4 2007	Q4 2006	Change
Cash + ST Invest.	$30.2	$42.3	(28.6%)
Accounts Rec.	$46.4	$37.1	25.1%
Inventory	$209.6	$198.7	5.5%

Liabilities	Q4 2007	Q4 2006	Change
Accounts Payable	$178.0	$213.2	(16.5%)
Long-Term Debt	$491.6	$494.7	(0.6%)

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

Performing due diligence without the cash flow statement is like eating lobster without the butter.

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.

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