On Jan. 25, integrated circuit solutions provider Agere Systems (NYSE:AGR) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended Dec. 31.

  • Agere Systems witnessed a total turnaround. Improved profitability and a solid baseline of products and design wins led it to a net profit of $16 million.
  • Agere entered into a merger agreement with LSI Logic (NYSE:LSI), under which that company will receive 2.16 shares for every Agere share and operate under the LSI name.
  • Only 27 of 45 investors believe that Agere Systems will outperform the S&P 500 in our community-intelligence database, CAPS. If you have an opinion, bring it to CAPS!

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Sales

$372

$403

(7.7%)

Net Profit

$16

($23)

N/A

EPS

$0.09

($0.13)

N/A

Diluted Shares

170

181

(6.1%)

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

Margin Checkup

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change*

Gross Margin

46.8%

47.9%

(1.1)

Operating Margin

5.4%

(4.5%)

9.9

Net Margin

4.3%

(5.7%)

10.0

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$456

$649

(29.7%)

Accounts Rec.

$242

$252

(4.0%)

Inventory

$81

$125

(35.2%)

Liabilities

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Accounts Payable

$127

$196

(35.2%)

Long-Term Debt

$362

$372

(2.7%)

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights

Q4 2006

Q4 2005

Change

Cash From Ops.

$19

($7)

N/A

Capital Expenditures

$10

$39

(74.4%)

Free Cash Flow

$9

($46)

N/A

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

  • Conexant Systems (NASDAQ:CNXT)
  • Atheros Communications (NASDAQ:ATHR)
  • Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM)

Related Foolishness:

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