MPX's Rough Seas in Q4: Fool by Numbers

On Feb. 15, Marine Products (NYSE: MPX  ) released Q4 2005 earnings for the period ending Dec. 31, 2005.

• The company cut back on production in the face of declining consumer sentiment and the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Unit volumes fell 21%.
• Higher raw-material and fixed costs cut into gross and operating margins.
• Cash flow was hurt by a significant jump in accounts receivable.

(Figures in thousands, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

	Avg. Est.	Q4 2005	Q4 2004	% Change
Sales	$60,200	$56,873	$62,684	(9.3%)
Net Profit	--	$4,185	$5,457	(23.3%)
EPS	$0.12	$0.11	$0.13	(15.4%)

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

Margin Checkup

	Q4 2005	Q4 2004	Change
Gross Margin	23.13%	25.17%	(2.04)
Op. Margin	9.32%	12.91%	(3.60)
Net Margin	7.36%	8.71%	(1.35)

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets	Q4 2005	Q4 2004	% Change
Cash + ST Invest.	$38,925	$46,747	(16.7%)
Inventory	$26,856	$25,869	3.8%
Accounts Rec.	$3,662	$1,082	238.4%

Liabilities	Q4 2005	Q4 2004	% Change
Long-Term Debt	--	--	N/A
Accounts Pay.	$3,461	$3,750	(7.7%)

Cash Flow Highlights*

	Q4 2005	Q4 2004	% Change
Cash From Ops.	$19,366	$29,405	(34.1%)
Capital Expend.	$1,118	$2,838	(60.6%)
Free Cash Flow	$18,248	$26,567	(31.3%)

*Cash flow data is for all of 2005.

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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.

At the time of publication, Fool analyst Andy Cross did not own shares in any company mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.