MBA-520 Forecasting Financial Statements AK Steel is an integrated manufacturer of high-quality steel and steel products in capital-intensive steel mills. AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, and carbon and stainless tubular steel products for automotive, appliance, construction, and manufacturing markets. Nucor manufactures more commodity-level steel and steel products at the lower end of the market in less capital-intensive mini-mills. The following selected hypothetical data describe sales and cost of products sold for both firms for Years 3 and 4. Year 3 Year 4 ($ amounts in millions) S $ $ 4,042 S 3,887 S 155 $ 3.80% 5,217 4,554 663 12.70% AK Steel Sales Cost of Products Sold Gross Profit Gross Margin Nucor Sales Cost of Products Sold Gross Profit Gross Margin $ $ S 6,266 $ 11,377 5,997 $ 9,129 269 $ 2,248 4.30% 19.80% Industry analysts anticipate the following annual changes in sales for the next five years: Year +1 Year +2 Year +3 Year +4 Year +5 5% 10% 20 -1096 -20% A. Cost Structure: Estimate the manufacturing cost structure for cost of products sold for both AK Steel and Nucor in Year 4. Year 4 % COP ($ amounts in millions) AK Steel Nucor B. Structure of Manufacturing Cost: In one paragraph, compare the structure of manufacturing costs for each firm: C. Projected Financial Information: Compute the projected sales, cost of products sold, gross profit, and gross margin (gross profit as a percentage of sales) of each firm for Year +1 through Year +5. See "analysis" tab. D. Gross Margin Comparison: In one to two paragraphs, explain why the levels and variability of the gross margin percentages differ for these two firms for Year +1 through Year +5. Provide an example comparing the effect of the change in gross margin. (For example, if gross margin changed from 25% to 35%, what would it mean for each company?)