Marginal Performance at Almost Family

Margins matter. The more Almost Family (Nasdaq: AFAM  ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. That's why I check on my holdings' margins at least once a quarter. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, comparisons to sector peers and competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Almost Family's competitive position could be.

Here's the current margin snapshot for Almost Family and some of its sector and industry peers, and direct competitors.

Company	TTM Gross Margin	TTM Operating Margin	TTM Net Margin
Almost Family	54%	15.2%	8.9%
Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED  )	51.2%	14.9%	8.8%
LHC Group (Nasdaq: LHCG  )	48.6%	15.6%	8.1%
Gentiva Health Services (Nasdaq: GTIV  )	52.6%	10.7%	4.4%
Omnicare (NYSE: OCR  )	23.2%	8.7%	3.5%

Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's.

Unfortunately, that chart doesn't tell us much about where Almost Family has been, or where it's going. A company with rising gross and operating margins often fuels its growth by increasing demand for its products. If it sells more units while keeping costs in check, its profitability increases. Conversely, a company with gross margins that inch downward over time is often losing out to competition, and possibly engaging in a race to the bottom on prices. If it can't make up for this problem by cutting costs -- and most companies can't -- then both the business and its shares face a decidedly bleak outlook.

Of course, over the short term, the kind of economic shocks we recently experienced can drastically affect a company's profitability. That's why I like to look at five fiscal years' worth of margins, along with the results for the trailing 12 months, the last fiscal year, and last fiscal quarter. You can't always reach a hard conclusion about your company's health, but you can better understand what to expect, and what to watch.

Here's the margin picture for Almost Family over the past few years.

(Because of seasonality in some businesses, the numbers for the last period on the right -- the TTM figures -- aren't always comparable to the FY results preceding them.)

Here's how the stats break down:

• Over the past five years, gross margin peaked at 53.6% and averaged 51.2%. Operating margin peaked at 14.1% and averaged 10.4%. Net margin peaked at 10.7% and averaged 7.4%.
• Fiscal 2009 gross margin was 53.5%, 230 basis points better than the five-year average. Fiscal 2009 operating margin was 14.1%, 370 basis points better than the five-year average. Fiscal 2009 net margin was 8.2%, 80 basis points better than the five-year average.
• TTM gross margin is 54%, 280 basis points better than the five-year average. TTM operating margin is 15.2%, 480 basis points better than the five-year average. TTM net margin is 8.9%, 150 basis points better than the five-year average
• LFQ gross margin is 54.9%, 110 basis points better than the prior year quarter. LFQ operating margin is 16.4%, 250 basis points better than the prior year quarter. LFQ net margin is 9.7%, 170 basis points better than the prior year quarter

With recent 12-month-period operating margins exceeding historical averages, Almost Family looks like it is doing fine.

If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're probably ahead of 95% of the market's individual investors. By keeping an eye on the health of your companies' margins, you can spot potential trouble early, or figure out whether the numbers merit Mr. Market's enthusiasm or pessimism. Let us know what you think of the health of the margins at Almost Family in the comments box below. Or, if you're itching to learn more, head on over to our quotes page to view the filings directly.