On Aug. 8, 1-800-Flowers.com (NASDAQ:FLWS) announced fiscal fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended July 1.

  • 1-800-Flowers grew sales by 9.8% to $231.8 million. Each category posted impressive gains, with the exception of its home and children's business.
  • Gross margins soared 270 basis points to 42.7%, thanks to the perfect blend of an improved product mix and enhanced sourcing and pricing initiatives.
  • The really impressive growth took place in the company's earnings, up 545% to $6.6 million, or $0.10 per share.
  • Despite its remarkable performance over the past year, 1-800-Flowers garners a rating of just one star (out of a possible five) over at Motley Fool CAPS. Think investors are full of manure? Join the CAPS community and offer your own opinion.

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

Income Statement Highlights

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change

Sales

$231.8

$211.1

9.8%

Net Profit

$6.6

$1.0

545.2%

EPS

$0.1

$0.02

400%

Diluted Shares

64.9

66.5

(2.4%)

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change*

Gross Margin

42.7%

40%

2.7

Operating Margin

5.3%

1.2%

4.1

Net Margin

2.8%

0.5%

2.3

*Expressed in percentage points

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$16.1

$24.6

(34.6%)

Accounts Rec.

$17.0

$13.2

29.3%

Inventory

$62.1

$53.0

17.2%

Liabilities

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change

Accounts Payable*

$62.4

$63.9

(2.2%)

Long-Term Debt

$68.0

$78.1

(12.9%)

*Also includes accrued expenses

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change

Cash from Ops.

$32.3

$14.7

119.4%

Capital Expenditures

$18.0

$20.5

(11.9%)

Free Cash Flow

$14.3

($5.8)

N/A

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

Related Foolishness:

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, Fool contributor Mike Cianciolo held no position in 1-800-Flowers.com.