On Tuesday, United Natural Foods
- Per-share earnings met analyst estimates, but sales fell short.
- Margins improved, however, particularly the operating margin, which rose a little more than 1%. That's somewhat impressive, considering the firm took a loss during the quarter from its flagging Albert's Organics division in Indiana.
- Leverage also seems to be working. While inventory and accounts receivable both rose year over year, sales rose faster.
- Still, not all the news was good. Cash used in operations more than tripled from last year's Q1. Management needs to turn that around in order to keep the balance sheet in line.
- Come back next week for the full rundown on the earnings.
(Figures in thousands, except per-share data)
Income Statement Highlights
|
Q1 2007 |
Q1 2006 |
Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Sales |
$646,433 |
$575,641 |
12.3% |
|
Net Profit |
$12,426 |
$7,670 |
62% |
|
EPS |
$0.29 |
$0.18 |
61.1% |
|
Diluted Shares |
42,599 |
42,150 |
1.1% |
Get back to basics with a look at the income statement.
Margin Checkup
|
Q1 2007 |
Q1 2006 |
Change* |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gross Margin |
19.12% |
19.16% |
(0.04) |
|
Operating Margin |
3.58% |
2.54% |
1.04 |
|
Net Margin |
1.92% |
1.33% |
0.59 |
Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.
Balance Sheet Highlights
|
Assets |
Q1 2007 |
Q1 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash + ST Invest. |
$8,416 |
$9,906 |
(15%) |
|
Accounts Rec. |
$164,476 |
$153,488 |
7.2% |
|
Inventory |
$300,214 |
$270,449 |
11% |
|
Liabilities |
Q1 2007 |
Q1 2006 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Accounts Payable |
$138,691 |
$144,191 |
(3.8%) |
|
Total Long-Term Debt* |
$73,758 |
$69,564 |
6% |
Learn the ways of the balance sheet.
Cash Flow Checkup
|
Q1 2007 |
Q1 2006 |
Change |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cash From Ops. |
($17,247) |
($5,751) |
N/A |
|
Capital Expenditures |
$4,760 |
$7,683 |
(38%) |
|
Free Cash Flow |
($22,007) |
($13,434) |
N/A |
Find out why Fools always follow the money.
Related Companies:
-
BJ's Wholesale
(NYSE:BJ) -
Whole Foods Market
(NASDAQ:WFMI) -
Wild Oats
(NASDAQ:OATS)
Related Foolishness:
- United Natural Foods is on call here in Fooldom.
- The firm's valuation could taste better, though.
- Pardon management while they scratch their seven-year hitch.
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.
Whole Foods is a selection of the Motley Fool Stock Advisor stock-picking service. Ask for us an all-access pass and you'll get a backstage look at all of the stocks that are helping David and Tom Gardner beat the S&P 500 by more than 45% as of this writing. It's free for 30 days. All you have to lose is the prospect of a richer portfolio.
Fool contributor Tim Beyers, ranked 1,389 out of 13,860 in Motley Fool CAPS, didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story at the time of publication. You can find out which stocks he owns by checking Tim's Fool profile. The Motley Fool's disclosure policy always adds up.
