[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	$ 32,200	$ 35,000	$ 38,600
Accounts receivable, net	89,900	63,500	49,000
Merchandise inventory	110,000	83,200	54,000
Prepaid expenses	10,650	9,350	4,600
Plant assets, net	279,000	252,000	233,000
Total assets	$ 521,750	$ 443,050	$ 379,200
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable	$ 130,000	$ 73,000	$ 50,400
Long-term notes payable	96,000	101,250	81,200
Common stock, $10 par value	161,500	161,500	161,500
Retained earnings	134,250	107,300	86,100
Total liabilities and equity	$ 521,750	$ 443,050	$ 379,200

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

For Year Ended December 31	Current Year		1 Year Ago
Sales		$ 765,000		$ 610,000
Cost of goods sold	$ 451,350		$ 384,300
Other operating expenses	237,150		152,500
Interest expense	12,400		13,000
Income tax expense	9,400		8,925
Total costs and expenses		710,300		558,725
Net income		$ 54,700		$ 51,275
Earnings per share		$ 3.39		$ 3.17

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

(1-a) Compute profit margin ratio for the current year and one year ago. (1-b) Did profit margin improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?

(2) Compute total asset turnover for the current year and one year ago.

(3-a) Compute return on total assets for the current year and one year ago. (3-b) Based on return on total assets, did Simon's operating efficiency improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?