Nexen Inc. reported the following selected information for the last five years (in millions, except earnings per share):

Instructions
(a) Calculate Nexen's return on common shareholders' equity (for this calculation, note that the company has no preferred shares), return on assets, and profit margin ratios before and after discontinued operations for each of the last five years.
(b) Evaluate Nexen's profitability over the last five years before and after discontinued operations.
(c) Which analysis-before or after discontinued operations-is more relevant to investors? Explain

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2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 Net sales Average common shareholders' equity Average total assets 5,4 4,203 7,424 $ 5,583 3,936 4,316 22,404 22,528 20,115 17,616 15,873 7,418 6,374 5,123 Profit from continuing operations Profit from discontinued operations Profit 572 625 1,197 512 24 536 1,715 1,715 3.26 1,086 1,086 2.06 601 601 r share from continuing operations Earnings pe Total earnings per share 1.09 2.28 0.98 1.03 1.15 1.15 3.26 2.06