Question
The Medford Mug Company is an old-line maker of ceramic coffee mugs. It imprints company logos and other sayings on mugs for both commercial and
The Medford Mug Company is an old-line maker of ceramic coffee mugs. It imprints company logos and other sayings on mugs for both commercial and wholesale markets. The firm has the capacity to produce 50 million mugs per year, but the recession has cut production and sales in the current year to 15 million mugs. The following table shows the operating statement for 2001:
MEDFORD MUG COMPANY | ||
Income Statement | ||
Year Ending 2001 ($ in Millions) | ||
Sales (15 million @ $2) | $ 30.0 | |
Less Cost of goods sold | ||
Variable cost (15 million at @0.50) | (7.5) | |
Fixed cost | (20.0) | (27.5) |
Gross margin | $ 2.5 | |
Less selling and administration | (4.0) | |
Operating profit | $ (1.5) |
At the end of 2001, there was no ending inventory of finished goods.
The board of directors is very concerned about the $1.5 million operating loss. It hires an outside consultant who reports back that the firm suffers from two problems. First, the president of the company receives a fixed salary, and since she owns no stock, she has very little incentive worry about company profits. The second problem is that the company has not aggressively marketed its product and has not kept up with changing markets. The current president is 64 and the board of directors makes her an offer to retire one year early so that they can hire a new president to turn the firm around. The current president accepts the offer. To retire and the board immediately hires a new president with a proven track record as a turnaround specialist.
The new president is hired with an employment contract that pays a fixed salary of $50,000 a year plus 15 percent of the firm's operating profits (if any). Operating profits are calculated using absorption costing (i.e., gross margin income statementlike the one above). In 2002, the new president doubles the selling and administration budget to $8 million (which includes the president's fixed salary of $50,000). He designs a new line of "politically correct" sayings to imprint on the mugs and expands the inventory and the number of distributors handling the mugs. Production is increased to 45 million mugs, and sales climb to 18 million mugs at $2 each. Variable cost per mug remains at $0.50 per mug, and the fixed costs at $20 million in 2002.
At the end of 2002, the president meets with the board of directors and announces he has accepted another job. He believes he has successfully gotten Medford Mug back on track and thanks the board for giving him the opportunity. His new job is to turn around another struggling company.
Required
- Construct the gross margin income statement for 2002, and calculate the president's bonus for 2002.
- Fill in the table.
- Evaluate the performance of the new president in 2002. Did he perform well from the company's perspective?
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