On May 16, Napster (NASDAQ:NAPS) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended March 31.

  • Napster showed signs of improvement; its 830,000 subscribers generated 8.8% more revenue than in the previous year's quarter.
  • New subscribers increased year-over-year by 47%, mainly from the acquisition of paid subscribers from AOL Music Now.
  • The $11.1 million cash buyout for AOL subscribers contributed to the 36.2% decline in cash on the balance sheet.
  • New marketing partnerships with AT&T (NYSE:T), Circuit City (NYSE:CC), and Motorola (NYSE:MOT) have helped the company post lower operating expenses.

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

Income Statement Highlights

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change

Sales

$29,133.0

$26,779.0

8.8%

Net Profit*

($7,543.0)

($7,314.0)

N/A

EPS

($0.17)

($0.17)

N/A

Diluted Shares

43,239.0

43,026.0

0.5%

*Includes loss from continuing operations.

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change*

Gross Margin

27.3%

28.0%

(0.6)

Operating Margin

(27.2%)

(37.2%)

9.9

Net Margin

(25.9%)

(27.3%)

1.4

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$66,483.0

$104,169.0

(36.2%)

Accounts Rec.

$1,418.0

$1,042.0

36.1%

Liabilities

Q4 2007

Q4 2006

Change

Accounts Payable

$2,231.0

$3,279.0

(32.0%)

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

Management was so busy downloading tunes that they forgot to post free cash flow.

Related Foolishness:

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