On Feb. 24, Citizens Communications (NYSE:CZN) released full-year 2005 earnings for the period ended Dec. 31.

  • Revenue was just about flat compared to 2004.
  • Operating margins improved more than six percentage points from last year, four percentage points of which were due to the non-repetition of last year's $91 million strategic management charge.
  • Lower capital expenditures and higher cash flow from operations boosted free cash flow by 32%.

(Figures in thousands, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Avg. Est.

FY 2005

FY 2004

% Change

Sales

$2,160,000

$2,162,479

$2,168,422

(0.3)

Net Profit

--

$202,375

$72,150

180.5

EPS

$0.50

$0.60

$0.24

150



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

Margin Checkup

FY 2005

FY 2004

% Change

Gross Margin

90.96%

90.83%

0.13

Op. Margin

28.06%

21.96%

6.11

Net Margin

9.36%

3.33%

6.03



Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

FY 2005

FY 2004

% Change

Cash+ ST Invest.

$265,775

$163,759

62.3

Inventory

-

-

N/A

Accounts Rec.*

$276,320

$282,999

(2.4)

*Includes A/R and other non cash current assets.

Liabilities

FY 2005

FY 2004

% Change

Long-Term Debt

$3,999,376

$4,266,998

(6.3)

Accounts Pay.*

$388,908

$410,405

(5.2)

*Includes A/P and other current liabilities, except current portion of long-term debt.

Inventories at work.

Cash Flow Highlights

FY 2005

FY 2004

% Change

Cash From Ops

$844,217

$711,437

18.7

Capital Expend.

$268,459

$275,204

(2.5)

Free Cash Flow

$575,758

$436,233

32



Related Companies:

  • AT&T (NYSE:T)
  • BellSouth (NYSE:BLS)
  • France Telecom (NYSE:FTE)
  • Qwest Communications (NYSE:Q)
  • Verizon (NYSE:VZ)

Related Foolishness:

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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 owned shares in Citizens Communications and AT&T. Fool rules are here.