On Feb. 13, Blackboard (NASDAQ:BBBB) released earnings for the year ended Dec. 31.

  • Total company revenue grew 22% and free cash flow jumped 26%.
  • Blackboard reported diluted EPS of $1.47, which beat estimates by $0.02 after accounting for the favorable tax benefit in Q4.
  • Management lowered full-year 2006 earnings guidance, but forecasted 20% operating margins and 25% to 30% free cash flow growth.

(Figures in thousands, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Avg. Est.

FY 2005

FY 2004

Change

Sales

$135,530

$135,664

$111,403

+21.8%

Net Profit*

--

$41,853

$10,049

+316.5%

EPS*

$0.93

$1.47

$0.21

+600.0%

* includes a $15 million or $.51 per share tax benefit in Q4

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

Margin Checkup

FY 2005

FY 2004

Change

Gross Margin

70.64%

69.61%

+1.04%

Op. Margin

18.02%

9.01%

+9.01%

Net Margin

30.85%

9.02%

+21.83%



Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

FY 2005

FY 2004

Change

Cash+ ST Invest.

$138,497

$98,149

+41.1%

Inventory

$1,806

$1,994

-9.4%

Accounts Rec.

$26,136

$21,686

+20.5%



Liabilities

FY 2005

FY 2004

Change

Long-Term Debt

--

--

N/A

Accounts Pay.

$ 1,833

$1,114

+64.5%



Cash Flow Highlights

FY 2005

FY 2004

Change

Cash From Ops

$39,813

$32,731

+21.6%

Capital Expend.

$7,959

$7,440

+7.0%

Free Cash Flow

$31,854

$25,291

+25.9%



Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

  • eCollege.com (NASDAQ:ECLG)
  • Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
  • Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL)
  • SAP (NYSE:SAP)

Related Blackboard Foolishness:

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Blackboard is a Motley Fool Hidden Gems selection; Microsoft is a Motley Fool Inside Value pick. We have newsletters for every kind of investing.

At the time of publication, Fool analyst Andy Cross owned shares in Microsoft. Fool rules are here.