On April 26, Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) released Q1 2006 earnings for the period ended March 31.

  • Excluding restructuring and stock compensation charges, earnings per share increased 15% to $0.70.
  • The company blamed the 10% decrease in operating cash flow on unusually high income taxes.
  • Latin-American sales increased 17.5%, while Europe/South Pacific sales dropped 3.5% on negative foreign exchange and negative pricing.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Avg. Est.

Q1 2006

Q1 2005

Change

Sales

$ 2,840

$2,871

$2,743

4.7%

Net Profit

--

$325

$300

8.1%

EPS

$0.66

$0.59

$0.53

11.3%



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

Margin Checkup

Q1 2006

Q1 2005

Change

Gross Margin

54.47%

54.82%

(0.35)

Op. Margin

18.03%

17.96%

0.07

Net Margin

11.30%

10.94%

0.36



Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q1 2006

Q1 2005

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$383

$414

(7.5%)

Inventory

$950

$907

4.7%

Accounts Rec.

$1,321

$1,316

0.3%



Liabilities

Q1 2006

Q1 2005

Change

Total Debt

$3,492

$3,757

(7.1%)



Cash Flow Highlights

Q1 2006

Q1 2005

Change

Cash From Ops.

$383

$425

(10%)

Capital Expend.

$52

$61

(14.5%)

Free Cash Flow

$331

$365

(9.2%)



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Related companies:

  • Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG)
  • Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB)
  • Clorox (NYSE:CLX)
  • Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD)

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.

Colgate-Palmolive is a Motley Fool Inside Value recommendation. For more about Philip Durell's newsletter that features bargain-bin stocks, click here.

At the time of publication, Joseph Khattab had no positions in the companies mentioned. Fool rules are here.