On June 6, video-on-demand pioneer SeaChange International (NASDAQ:SEAC) released first-quarter 2008 earnings for the period ended April 30.

  • Year-over-year revenue growth of 17% is only mediocre for this next-generation entertainment technology trailblazer. The standard caveats about small companies with lumpy quarterly results do apply, though.

  • Smaller losses are nice, but they won't make anybody rich. The quarter was profitable on an EBITDA basis, though just barely, and Earnings Before Including The Bitter Amounts is rarely a reliable measure of operational strength anyway.

  • There's nothing wrong with the balance sheet, though. Cash-rich and devoid of debt, SeaChange management has plenty of financial wiggle room for its future plans, and the occasional quarterly letdown won't cause any significant harm.

  • The company told us that leading cable provider Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) just renewed its service contract for another year. Other prominent names on the customer list include Verizon (NYSE:VZ), Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC), and Disney's (NYSE:DIS) ABC network.

(Figures in thousands, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q1 2008

Q1 2007

Change

Sales

$38,844

$33,241

16.9%

Net Profit

($3,650)

($4,355)

16.2%

EPS

($0.12)

($0.15)

20%

Diluted Shares

29,389

28,468

3.2%

Owner Earnings

($565)

($4,435)

87.3%

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q1 2008

Q1 2007

Change*

Gross Margin

46.5%

46.3%

0.3

Operating Margin

(8.1%)

(18.3%)

10.2

Net Margin

(9.4%)

(13.1%)

3.7

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q1 2008

Q1 2007

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$43,965

$32,841

33.9%

Accounts Rec.

$34,167

$30,291

12.8%

Inventory

$21,111

$21,286

(0.8%)

Liabilities

Q1 2008

Q1 2007

Change

Accounts Payable

$16,953

$13,288

27.6%

Long-Term Debt

$0

$0

N/A

The balance sheet reflects the company's health.

Cash Flow Highlights
 Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend, but unfortunately, it couldn't be here today. Still, you'll never walk alone in Fooldom.

Related Foolishness:

Disney is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendation.

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 was a Disney shareholder but had no other position in any company mentioned. Fool rules are here.