Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	31,400			$	36,000		$	37,800
Accounts receivable, net			86,200				63,500			50,500
Merchandise inventory			110,000				81,000			53,000
Prepaid expenses			10,950				9,300			4,400
Plant assets, net			276,000				253,000			229,000
Total assets		$	514,550			$	442,800		$	374,700
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	128,400			$	73,500		$	50,000
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			96,000				101,250			82,800
Common stock, $10 par value			162,000				162,000			162,000
Retained earnings			128,150				106,050			79,900
Total liabilities and equity		$	514,550			$	442,800		$	374,700

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

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	735,000					$	610,000
Cost of goods sold	$	448,350					$	384,300
Other operating expenses		227,850						146,400
Interest expense		12,000						13,100
Income tax expense		9,500						8,600
Total costs and expenses					697,700						552,400
Net income				$	37,300					$	57,600
Earnings per share				$	2.30					$	3.56

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

Exercise 13-10 Part 1

(1-a) Profit margin ratio. (1-b) Did profit margin improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?