On May 3, digital audio-book peddler Audible (NASDAQ:ADBL) released first-quarter earnings for the period ending March 31.

  • Revenue growth is great, but it's even more impressive when coupled with lower and lower marketing costs. The combination tells me that the Audible brand name may be catching on these days, bringing up the word-of-mouth factor a bit.
  • Management is also becoming better stewards of that revenue, coming close to a GAAP net profit again.
  • The various cash flow figures tell the same story again, starring narrower deficits.
  • Audible can still afford to burn a good deal of cash, should it want to. There's a healthy cash total and no debt on the balance sheet.

(Figures in thousands, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Sales

$25,264

$19,715

28.1%

Net Profit

($1,210)

($3,040)

60.2%

EPS

($0.05)

($0.12)

58.3%

Diluted Shares

24,205

24,482

(1.1%)

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change*

Gross Margin

53.2%

53.8%

(0.6)

Operating Margin

(7.8%)

(18.8%)

11.0

Net Margin

(4.8%)

(15.4%)

10.6

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$65,501

$60,371

8.5%

Accounts Rec.

$3,589

$3,517

2.0%

Inventory

$125

$275

(54.5%)

Liabilities

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Accounts Payable

$2,860

$2,337

22.4%

Long-Term Debt

$0

$0

N/A

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights

Q1 2007

Q1 2006

Change

Cash From Ops.

$2,050

($3,646)

N/A

Capital Expenditures

$3,399

$3,914

(13.2%)

Free Cash Flow

($1,349)

($7,560)

82.2%

Owner Earnings

($3,299)

($5,832)

43.4%

Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend.

Related Foolishness:

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, Anders Bylund had no position in any company mentioned. Fool rules are here.