On April 10, Alcoa (NYSE:AA) released first-quarter earnings for the period ended March 31.

  • Revenues rose by more than 11%, thanks to higher metal prices and sales to the aerospace, building and construction, and industrial-product markets.
  • Though gross margins dipped year over year, they improved 2.2% versus Q4 2006, thanks to "productivity initiatives."
  • Operating cash flow rose to a record $527 million for the quarter, but free cash flow still came in negative.
  • One hundred and thirty All-Stars peg Alcoa as an outperform in Motley Fool CAPS.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data.)

Income Statement Highlights

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Sales

$7,908

$7,111

11.2%

Net Profit*

$673

$614

9.6%

EPS

$0.77

$0.70

10%

Diluted Shares

875.8

876.0

(0%)

*Income from continuing operations.

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change*

Gross Margin

24%

24.9%

(0.8)

Operating Margin

15.3%

15.4%

(0.1)

Net Margin

8.5%

8.6%

(0.1)

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$420

$459

(8.5%)

Accounts Rec.

$3,314

$3,380

(2%)

Inventory

$3,780

$3,778

0.1%

Liabilities

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Accounts Payable

$2,570

$2,691

(4.5%)

Long-Term Debt

$6,311

$5,226

20.8%

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Cash From Ops.

$528

($213)

N/A

Capital Expenditures

$783

$592

32.3%

Free Cash Flow

($255)

($805)

N/A

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

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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. This data has been provided by Netscribes. To provide feedback on this article, please click on the "feedback" button below.