The average price of a gallon of gas in 2018 increased $0.30 (12.4 percent) from $2.42 in 2017 to $2.72 in 2018. Lets see whether these changes are reflected in the income statement of Daisy Petrolum Industries for the year ended December 31, 2018 (amounts in billions).

	2018	2017
Revenues	$ 236	$ 200
Costs of Purchased Crude Oil and Products	135	107
Other Operating Costs	71	80
Income before Income Tax Expense	30	13
Income Tax Expense	9
Net Income	$ 21	$ 13

Required:

1. Compute the gross profit percentage for each year. Assuming that the change from 2017 to 2018 is the beginning of a sustained trend, is Daisy likely to earn more or less gross profit from each dollar of sales in 2019?
2. Compute the net profit margin for each year. Did Daisy do a better or worse job of controlling expenses other than the costs of crude oil and products in 2018 relative to 2017.
3. Daisy reported average net fixed assets of $362 billion in 2018 and $360 billion in 2017. Compute the fixed asset turnover ratios for both years. Did the company better utilize its investment in fixed assets to generate revenues in 2018 or 2017?
4. Daisy reported average stockholders equity of $172 billion in 2018 and $168 billion in 2017. The company has not issued preferred stock. Compute the return on equity ratios for both years. Did the company generate greater returns for stockholders in 2018 or 2017?

1-a. Compute the gross profit percentage for each year. (Round percentage values to 1 decimal place.) 1-b. Assuming that the change from 2017 to 2018 is the beginning of a sustained trend, is Daisy likely to earn more or less gross profit from each dollar of sales in 2019?

1-a. 2017		%
1-a. 2018		%
1-b. Likely to earn in 2019?

2-a. Compute the net profit margin for each year. (Round percentage values to 1 decimal place.) 2-b. Did Daisy do a better or worse job of controlling expenses other than the costs of crude oil and products in 2018 relative to 2017.

2-a. 2017		%
2-a. 2018		%
2-b. Controlling expenses in 2018 vs 2017?

3-a. Daisy reported average net fixed assets of $362 billion in 2018 and $360 billion in 2017. Compute the fixed asset turnover ratios for both years. (Round your answers to 2 decimal places.) 3-b. Did the company better utilize its investment in fixed assets to generate revenues in 2018 or 2017?

3-a. 2017
3-a. 2018
3-b. Investment better utilized in 2018 or 2017?

4-a. Daisy reported average stockholders equity of $172 billion in 2018 and $168 billion in 2017. The company has not issued preferred stock. Compute the return on equity ratios for both years. (Round percentage values to 1 decimal place.) 4-b. Did the company generate greater returns for stockholders in 2018 or 2017?

4-a. 2017		%
4-a. 2018		%
4-b. Greater returns generated in 2018 or 2017?