• Comment on the behaviour of sales and costs during the year to 31st January 2021. You should describe how sales and costs have fluctuated over the financial year and provide an explanation as to why you think they have behaved in this way.

• Trendfitters Ltd is a small company that manufactures and sells only one product; a standard face mask for the construction industry. During the last financial year, which ended on 31st January 2021, sales considerably exceeded budget due to increased demand from the general public as a result of Covid-19. Trendfitters Ltd supported this increased demand by selling masks online (which they had not previously done) and this incurred additional costs for the company to employ staff to administer and deliver the online sales.

Month Online Normal Sales Normal variable costs Normal fixed costs Online Sales Online variable costs fixed costs ('000s) ('000s) ('000s) ('000s) ('000s) ('000s) February 2020 587 290 75 0 0 0 March 2020 203 98 78 0 0 0 April 2020 196 112 78 63 32 24 May 2020 312 168 52 272 142 32 June 2020 426 236 51 312 175 28 July 2020 301 178 56 261 141 28 August 2020 312 181 63 107 53 26 September 2020 720 384 81 97 49 34 October 2020 890 492 76 92 51 29 November 2020 759 391 72 241 136 37 December 2020 512 267 75 366 201 32 January 2021 671 383 82 326 168 34