Genuine Spice Inc. began operations on January 1, 2016. The company produces eight-ounce bottles of hand and body lotion called Eternal Beauty. The lotion is sold wholesale in 12-bottle cases for $100 per case. There is a selling commission of $20 per case. The January direct materials, direct labor, and factory overhead costs are as follows:

DIRECT MATERIALS
	Cost Behavior	Units per Case	Cost per Unit	Cost per Case
Cream base	Variable	100 ozs.	$0.02	$ 2.00
Natural oils	Variable	30 ozs.	0.30	9.00
Bottle (8-oz.)	Variable	12 bottles	0.50	6.00
				$17.00

DIRECT LABOR
Department	Cost Behavior	Time per Case	Labor Rate per Hour	Cost per Case
Mixing	Variable	20 min	$18.00	$6.00
Filling	Variable	5	14.40	1.20
		25 min.		$7.20

FACTORY OVERHEAD
	Cost Behavior	Total Cost
Utilities	Mixed	$600
Facility lease	Fixed	14,000
Equipment depreciation	Fixed	4,300
Supplies	Fixed	660
		$19,560

Part ABreak-Even Analysis

The management of Genuine Spice Inc. wishes to determine the number of cases required to break even per month. The utilities cost, which is part of factory overhead, is a mixed cost. The following information was gathered from the first six months of operation regarding this cost:

2016	Case Production	Utility Total Cost
January	500	$600
February	800	660
March	1,200	740
April	1,100	720
May	950	690
June	1,025	705

	Required-Part A:
1.	Determine the fixed and variable portion of the utility cost using the high-low method.
2.	Determine the contribution margin per case.
3.	Determine the fixed costs per month, including the utility fixed cost from part (1).
4.	Determine the break-even number of cases per month.