Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	33,215			$	39,206		$	39,646
Accounts receivable, net			94,380				68,610			50,768
Merchandise inventory			117,478				86,263			54,614
Prepaid expenses			10,277				10,192			4,274
Plant assets, net			296,578				271,529			247,198
Total assets		$	551,928			$	475,800		$	396,500
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	136,056			$	82,018		$	51,815
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			104,800				106,151			88,503
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			148,572				125,131			93,682
Total liabilities and equity		$	551,928			$	475,800		$	396,500

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

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	717,506					$	566,202
Cost of goods sold	$	437,679					$	368,031
Other operating expenses		222,427						143,249
Interest expense		12,198						13,023
Income tax expense		9,328						8,493
Total costs and expenses					681,632						532,796
Net income				$	35,874					$	33,406
Earnings per share				$	2.21					$	2.06

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

(1) Debt and equity ratios.

Choose Numerator: Choose Denominator: Debt Ratio Debt Ratio 1 / / Debt ratio % 11 Current Year: 1 Year Ago: = Choose Numerator: Choose Denominator: = Equity Ratio 1 ! 1 Equity Ratio Equity ratio 11 = Current Year: 1 Year Ago: 11 % (2) Debt-to-equity ratio. Debt-To-Equity Ratio Choose Numerator: 1 Choose Denominator: 1 = Debt-To-Equity Ratio Debt-to-equity ratio 0 to 1 0 to 1 / Current Year: 1 Year Ago: / II (3-a) Times interest earned. (3-b) Based on times interest earned, is the company more or less risky for creditors in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago? Complete this question by entering your answers in the tabs below. Required 3A Required 3B Times interest earned. Times Interest Earned Choose Numerator: 7 Choose Denominator: / = Times Interest Earned Times interest earned times Current Year: 1 1 Year Ago: 7 times (Required 3A Required 3B >