Ready to Invest in Valentine's Day?

Want to order flowers for Valentine's day? Call 1-800-FLOWERS or visit their website.

No... this is not a commercial. While browsing around on the Internet, searching for something that will get me more than a kiss on the cheek from my wife on February 14th, I came across their 2008 Annual Report. It made for some interesting reading. Considering the free fall the American and world economy took last year, it is surprising that 1-800-FLOWERS actually showed some remarkable achievements for what should have been a down year in luxuries.

In a brief overview, here are some of their 2008 fiscal achievements:

• Grew EPS 23 percent to $0.32 per diluted share
• Grew EBITDA 9.3 percent to $61.6 million
• Reduced Operating Expense Ratio 70 basis points to 36.5%
• Grew Free Cash Flow 166 percent to $38 million
• Acquired DesignPac Gifts LLC for $38 million, increasing Company’s Gourmet Food and Gift Baskets total annual revenue run rate to more than $250 million

What this means in a nutshell is that the dividends 1-800-FLOWERS pay investors increased significantly, the company's earnings increased by nearly 10% (remember, the recession actually started in December 2007), the company became more productive, they have considerably more cash reserves, and they are expanding by buying up other companies. It's a good position for any company to be in, and reading their report I gathered that they are well prepared to weather the storm of this recession of recessions.

True, their financial year only ended in June 2008, before the worst of the credit crunch was realized. But it shows that even in tough times, things like flowers still sell. The company has positioned itself well, by cutting costs, in part by investing in online ordering platforms.

And while searching I found a 15% discount on flower designs by Martha Stewart. So if you're wanting to send flowers to a loved one, you can even get a discount.

Martha Stewart? I did a double take. I remembered she had gone to prison under a cloud of insider trading. It has been nearly five years ago since she surrendered to a prison camp in West Virginia. Still, she has served her time and paid her debt to society, and her improprieties were much less hurtful to others than say... Bernie Madoff's.

So... if you want to order flowers and other gifts by Martha Stewart through 1800FLOWERS.COM, visit their site, and perhaps even consider investing...

(Originally published at The Creating Wealth Blog on 2/11/09)