On Jan. 25, payday lender Cash America (NYSE:CSH) released Q4 2006 earnings for the period ended Dec. 31.

  • Revenues increased 26% to $215.4 million.
  • Profits rose 32% to $21.7 million or $0.71 per share, compared with $16.6 million or $0.60 per share a year ago.
  • Short-term cash advances fees rose 80% year over year to $71.9 million.
  • Cash America has a three-star rating at Motley Fool CAPS.

(Figures in thousands, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Avg. Est.

Q4 2005

Q4 2004

Change

Sales

$192,700

$215,393

$171,015

25.9%

Net Profit

--

$21,698

$16,653

30.3%

EPS

$0.73

$0.71

$0.60

18.3%

Diluted Shares

--

30,561

30,169

1.3%



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

Margin Checkup

Q4 2005

Q4 2004

Change*

Gross Margin

70.74%

60.81%

9.93

Operating Margin

17.31%

16.61%

0.70

Net Margin

10.07%

9.74%

0.33

*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine. See how they work.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets

Q4 2005

Q4 2004

Change

Cash + ST Invest.

$25,723

$18,852

36.4%

Accounts Rec.

$25,373

$22,048

15.1%

Inventory

$87,060

$72,683

19.8%



Liabilities

Q4 2005

Q4 2004

Change

Accounts Payable*

$92,368

$37,217

148.2%

Long-Term Debt

$202,963

$149,208

36.0%

*Includes accrued expenses.

Learn the ways of the balance sheet.

Cash Flow Highlights
Bad news: No cash flow statement was provided with the press release.

Find out why Fools always follow the money.

Related Companies:

  • Advance America
  • First Cash Financial
  • Dollar Financial (NASDAQ:DLLR)
  • EZCORP
  • QC Holdings (NASDAQ:QCCO)

Related Foolishness:

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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, Fool contributor Rich Duprey had no positions in any of the companies mentioned in the article. Fool rules are here.