| 1997 |
1996 |
1995 |
|
| (In thousands of dollars except per share items) | |||
| Sales of services | $3,852,935 | $3,302,303 | $2,689,799 |
| Cost of services | 3,171,589 |
2,689,523 |
2,148,406 |
| Gross profit | 681,346 | 612,780 | 541,393 |
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | 545,582 |
491,828 |
435,126 |
| Earnings from operations | 135,764 | 120,952 | 106,267 |
| Interest income, net | 1,216 |
1,957 |
7,024 |
| Earnings before income taxes | 136,980 | 122,909 | 113,291 |
| Income taxes: | |||
| Federal | 45,485 | 40,560 | 34,645 |
| State and other | 10,715 |
9,340 |
9,155 |
| Total income taxes | 56,200 |
49,900 |
43,800 |
| Net earnings | $80,780 |
$73,009 |
$69,491 |
| Basic earnings per share | $2.12 | $1.92 | $1.83 |
| Diluted earnings per share | $2.12 | $1.91 | $1.83 |
| Dividends per share | $.87 | $.83 | $.78 |
| Average shares outstanding (thousands) | 38,099 | 38,043 | 37,993 |
|
See accompanying Notes to Financial Statements. |
|||