Required information

[The following information applies to the questions displayed below.] Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	37,056			$	43,315		$	43,368
Accounts receivable, net			89,500				62,700			51,500
Merchandise inventory			114,000				84,500			57,000
Prepaid expenses			11,933				11,370			4,819
Plant assets, net			357,289				323,786			268,613
Total assets		$	609,778			$	525,671		$	425,300
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	156,390			$	91,504		$	57,824
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			118,077				124,531			96,811
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			172,811				147,136			108,165
Total liabilities and equity		$	609,778			$	525,671		$	425,300

The companys income statements for the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, follow. Assume that all sales are on credit:

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	792,711					$	625,548
Cost of goods sold	$	483,554					$	406,606
Other operating expenses		245,740						158,264
Interest expense		13,476						14,388
Income tax expense		10,305						9,383
Total costs and expenses					753,075						588,641
Net income				$	39,636					$	36,907
Earnings per share				$	2.44					$	2.27

(3-a) Compute inventory turnover. (3-b) For each ratio, determine if it improved or worsened in the current year.