Gargantuan Industries is a multiproduct company with several manufacturing plants. The Boise Plant manufactures and distributes two household cleaning and polishing compounds, standard and commercial, under the Super Clean label. The forecasted operating results for the first six months of the current year, when 100,000 cases of each compound are expected to be manufactured and sold, are presented in

the following statement.

SUPER CLEAN COMPOUNDSBOISE PLANT

Forecasted Results of Operations

For the Six-Month Period Ending June 30

(in Thousands)

Standard Commercial Total

Sales ................................................................................................. $2,000 $3,000 $5,000

Cost of goods sold ............................................................................. 1,600 1,900 3,500

Gross profit ........................................................................................ $ 400 $1,100 $1,500

Selling and administrative expenses:

Variable ......................................................................................... $ 400 $ 700 $1,100

Fixed* ............................................................................................ 240 360 600

Total selling and administrative expenses ........................................ $ 640 $1,060 $1,700

Income (loss) before taxes .................................................................. $ (240) $ 40 $ (200)

*The fixed selling and administrative expenses are allocated between the two products on the basis of dollar sales volume.

The standard compound sold for $20 a case and the commercial compound sold for $30 a case during the first six months of the year. The manufacturing costs, by case of product, are presented in theschedule below. Each product is manufactured on a separate production line. Annual normal manufacturing capacity is 200,000 cases of each product. However, the plant is capable of producing 250,000

cases of standard compound and 350,000 cases of commercial compound annually.

Cost per Case

Standard Commercial

Direct material ..................................................................................................... $ 7.00 $ 8.00

Direct labor .......................................................................................................... 4.00 4.00

Variable manufacturing overhead .......................................................................... 1.00 2.00

Fixed manufacturing overhead* ............................................................................. 4.00 5.00

Total manufacturing cost ...................................................................................... $16.00 $19.00

Variable selling and administrative costs ................................................................ $ 4.00 $ 7.00

*Depreciation charges are 50 percent of the fixed manufacturing overhead of each line.

The following schedule reflects the consensus of top management regarding the price-volume alternatives for the Super Clean products for the last six months of the current year. These are essentiallythe same alternatives management had during the first six months of the year.

Standard Compound Commercial Compound

Alternative Prices Sale Volume Alternative Prices Sale Volume (per case) (in cases) (per case) (in case)

$18 ............................... 120,000 .............................. $25 ........................... 175,000

20 ............................... 100,000 .............................. 27 ........................... 140,000

21 ............................... 90,000 .............................. 30 ........................... 100,000

22 ............................... 80,000 .............................. 32 ........................... 55,000

23 ............................... 50,000 .............................. 35 ........................... 35,000

Gargantuan's top management believes the loss for the first six months reflects a tight profit margin

caused by intense competition. Management also believes that many companies will leave this market

by next year and profit should improve.

2. Independently of your answer to requirement (1), assume the optimum alternatives for the last six months were as follows: a selling price of $23 and volume of 50,000 cases for the standard compound, and a selling price of $35 and volume of 35,000 cases for the commercial compound.

a. Should Gargantuan Industries consider closing down its operations until January 1 of the next year in order to minimize its losses? Support your answer with appropriate calculations in an excel sheet.