CASE 2:

Located in Fargo, North Dakota, the Brant Freezer Company manufactures industrial freezers. These freezers come in one size and are distributed through public warehouses in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland, and St. Louis. In addition, some space is used in the companys Fargo warehouse. Young Joaquin (J. Q.) Brant, with a fresh MBA degree from the University of South Alabama, returned to the family firm, where he had once worked during summers. On his first day of work, J. Q. met with his father. His father complained that they were being eaten alive by warehousing costs. The firms controller drew up a budget each year, and each warehouses monthly activity (units shipped) and costs were tallied.

Exhibit 3.A shows actual 2016 figures for all warehouses, plus actual figures for the first five months of 2017. Projected 12-month 2017 budgets and shipments are also included. Exhibit 3.B shows the Income Statement for 2016. Exhibit 3.C is the 2016 Balance Sheet. If you are familiar with Excel or other spreadsheet software, you might try using it to answer the following questions.

Exhibit 3.A Brant Freezer Warehouse Performance

	2016 Figures				2017 Figures
	Units Shipped		Warehouse Costs		Units Shipped		Warehouse Costs
	12 Months Jan.Dec.	5 Months through May 31	12 Months Jan.Dec.	5 Months through May 31	Projected 12 Months Jan.Dec.	Actual 5 Months May 31	Budgeted 12 Months Jan.Dec.	Actual Costs through May 31
Atlanta	17,431	4,080	156,830	35,890	18,000	4,035	178,000	40,228
Boston	6,920	3,061	63,417	27,915	7,200	3,119	73,000	29,416
Chicago	28,104	14,621	246,315	131,618	30,000	15,230	285,000	141,222
Denver	3,021	1,005a	28,019	8,600*	3,100	1,421	31,000	14,900
Fargo	2,016	980	16,411	8,883	2,000	804	17,000	9,605
Los Angeles	16,491	11,431	151,975	109,690	17,000	9,444	176,000	93,280
Portland	8,333	4,028	73,015	36,021	9,000	4,600	85,000	42,616
St. Louis	5,921	2,331	51,819	23,232	8,000	2,116	56,000	19,191
aDenver warehouse closed by strike March 419, 2016.

Figure 3.A Full Alternative Text

Exhibit 3.B Brant Freezer Company Income Statement

Income Statement 2016
Sales		$4,003,450
Cost of goods sold		$937,000
Gross Margin		$3,066,450
Transportation cost	$657,322
Warehousing cost	$735,982
Inventory carrying cost	$567,987
Other operating costs	$345,876
Total operating cost		$2,307,167
Earnings before interest and taxes		$759,283
Interest		$110,000
Taxes		$69,000
Net Income		$580,283

Figure 3.B Full Alternative Text

Exhibit 3.C Brant Freezer Company Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet 2016
Assets
Cash	$706,034
Accounts Receivable	$355,450
Inventory	$1,590,435
Total Current Assets	$2,651,919
Net Fixed Assets	$803,056
Total Assets	$3,454,975
Liabilities
Current Liabilities	$1,678,589
Long-term Debt	$398,060
Total Liabilities	$2,076,649
Shareholders Equity	$1,378,326
Total Liabilities and Equity	$3,454,975

Question:

- Holding all other information constant, what would be the affect on ROA for 2017 if warehousing costs declined 10% from 2016 levels?

(5 marks)