Paul Sabin organized Sabin Electronics 10 years ago to produce and sell several electronic devices on which he had secured patents. Although the company has been fairly profitable, it is now experiencing a severe cash shortage. For this reason, it is requesting a $620,000 long-term loan from Gulfport State Bank, $160,000 of which will be used to bolster the Cash account and $460,000 of which will be used to modernize equipment. The companys financial statements for the two most recent years follow:

Sabin Electronics
Comparative Balance Sheet
	This Year		Last Year
Assets
Current assets:
Cash	$	118,000	$	270,000
Marketable securities		0		30,000
Accounts receivable, net		633,000		420,000
Inventory		1,065,000		715,000
Prepaid expenses		30,000		34,000
Total current assets		1,846,000		1,469,000
Plant and equipment, net		1,969,200		1,490,000
Total assets	$	3,815,200	$	2,959,000
Liabilities and Stockholders Equity
Liabilities:
Current liabilities	$	820,000	$	420,000
Bonds payable, 12%		850,000		850,000
Total liabilities		1,670,000		1,270,000
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock, $15 par		810,000		810,000
Retained earnings		1,335,200		879,000
Total stockholders equity		2,145,200		1,689,000
Total liabilities and equity	$	3,815,200	$	2,959,000

Sabin Electronics
Comparative Income Statement and Reconciliation
	This Year		Last Year
Sales	$	5,600,000	$	4,710,000
Cost of goods sold		3,995,000		3,570,000
Gross margin		1,605,000		1,140,000
Selling and administrative expenses		677,000		572,000
Net operating income		928,000		568,000
Interest expense		102,000		102,000
Net income before taxes		826,000		466,000
Income taxes (30%)		247,800		139,800
Net income		578,200		326,200
Common dividends		122,000		101,000
Net income retained		456,200		225,200
Beginning retained earnings		879,000		653,800
Ending retained earnings	$	1,335,200	$	879,000
During the past year, the company introduced several new product lines and raised the selling prices on a number of old product lines in order to improve its profit margin. The company also hired a new sales manager, who has expanded sales into several new territories. Sales terms are 2/10, n/30. All sales are on account. Assume that Paul Sabin has asked you to assess his companys profitability and stock market performance.

2.

You decide next to assess the companys profitability. Compute the following for both this year and last year:

a.	The gross margin percentage. (Round your percentage answers to 1 decimal place (i.e., 0.1234 should be entered as 12.3).)

b.	The net profit margin percentage. (Round your percentage answers to 1 decimal place (i.e., 0.1234 should be entered as 12.3).)

c.	The return on total assets. (Total assets at the beginning of last year were $2,919,000.) (Round your percentage answers to 1 decimal place (i.e., 0.1234 should be entered as 12.3).)

d.	The return on equity. (Stockholders equity at the beginning of last year was $1,679,000.) (Round your percentage answers to 1 decimal place (i.e., 0.1234 should be entered as 12.3).)

e.

Is the companys financial leverage positive or negative?

	Positive
	Negative