Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	30,400			$	35,500		$	37,400
Accounts receivable, net			88,600				63,000			49,000
Merchandise inventory			112,500				81,600			53,000
Prepaid expenses			10,300				9,300			5,400
Plant assets, net			281,000				252,000			227,000
Total assets		$	522,800			$	441,400		$	371,800
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	128,800			$	74,000		$	50,400
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			97,000				98,250			81,600
Common stock, $10 par value			163,000				163,000			163,000
Retained earnings			134,000				106,150			76,800
Total liabilities and equity		$	522,800			$	441,400		$	371,800

The companys income statements for the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, follow.

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	715,000					$	570,000
Cost of goods sold	$	421,850					$	364,800
Other operating expenses		221,650						131,100
Interest expense		11,800						13,200
Income tax expense		9,600						9,000
Total costs and expenses					664,900						518,100
Net income				$	50,100					$	51,900
Earnings per share				$	3.07					$	3.18

For both the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, compute the following ratios:

1 Required 1A Required 1B Profit margin ratio Profit Margin Ratio 1 Choose Denominator: Choose Numerator: Profit Margin Ratio Profit margin ratio % Current Year: 1 Year Ago: 1 % Required 1A Required 1B Did profit margin improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago? Profit margin