Required information

Use the following information for the Exercises below. (Static)

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

At December 31	Current Year	1 Year Ago	2 Years Ago
Assets
Cash	$ 31,800	$ 35,625	$ 37,800
Accounts receivable, net	89,500	62,500	50,200
Merchandise inventory	112,500	82,500	54,000
Prepaid expenses	10,700	9,375	5,000
Plant assets, net	278,500	255,000	230,500
Total assets	$ 523,000	$ 445,000	$ 377,500
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable	$ 129,900	$ 75,250	$ 51,250
Long-term notes payable	98,500	101,500	83,500
Common stock, $10 par value	163,500	163,500	163,500
Retained earnings	131,100	104,750	79,250
Total liabilities and equity	$ 523,000	$ 445,000	$ 377,500

Exercise 13-10 (Static) Analyzing efficiency and profitability LO P3

The companys income statements for the current year and 1 year ago, follow.

For Year Ended December 31	Current Year		1 Year Ago
Sales		$ 673,500		$ 532,000
Cost of goods sold	$ 411,225		$ 345,500
Other operating expenses	209,550		134,980
Interest expense	12,100		13,300
Income tax expense	9,525		8,845
Total costs and expenses		642,400		502,625
Net income		$ 31,100		$ 29,375
Earnings per share		$ 1.90		$ 1.80

For both the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, compute the following ratios: (1-a) Profit margin ratio. (1-b) Did profit margin improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago? (2) Total asset turnover. (3-a) Return on total assets. (3-b) Based on return on total assets, did Simon's operating efficiency improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?