On May 1, Cephalon (NASDAQ:CEPH) released earnings for its fiscal first quarter, ended March 31.

  • Sales rose by 22.4%, backed by 35% growth in the company's central nervous system franchise. Cephalon's successful transition of its pain franchise to Fentora from Actiq ensured that sales ramped up smoothly.

  • Strong top-line growth and a decline in operating expenses drove huge gains on the bottom line. Cephalon's margins are looking quite healthy.

  • For fiscal 2007, the company expects sales of $1.675 billion to $1.725 billion, with the central nervous system franchise contributing $925 million to $950 million.

  • Cephalon expects its EPS for fiscal 2007 to be $4.40 to $4.50. The stock is trading at just 18 times those estimates.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Sales

$437.0

$356.9

22.4%

Net Profit

$75.2

$3.6

2,007.8%

EPS

$0.99

$0.05

1,880.0%

Diluted Shares

75.8

73.5

3.2%

Get back to basics with a look at the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change*

Gross Margin

80.2%

78.2%

2.0

Operating Margin

26.1%

5.0%

21.1

Net Margin

17.2%

1.0%

16.2

*Expressed in percentage points

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$579.4

$541.5

7.0%

Accounts Rec.

$307.5

$225.4

36.5%

Inventory

$189.9

$150.5

26.2%

Liabilities

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Accounts Payable

$77.0

$87.2

(11.6%)

Long-Term Debt

$1,247.6

$1,695.9

(26.4%)

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Cash From Ops.

$58.5

($33.8)

N/A

Capital Expenditures

$21.4

$31.8

(32.7%)

Free Cash Flow

$37.2

($65.5)

N/A

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

Related Foolishness:

Think you could pitch your favorite stock -- or ditch your least favorite -- in 27 seconds or less? That's what we're doing over at Motley Fool CAPS. Check out our new stock videos.

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.