You are the head of the strategic management department of a company that manufactures steel. You are in the process of updating the company's strategic growth plan. The level of competition in the industry has increased significantly and you expect the trend to continue. Your company must take into account the effect of the increased competition on its performance. Aluminium, Copper, Iron, Lead, and Mercury are other companies in the steel industry. Use the following information from these companies to assist you in making a presentation to the board.

Cost of equity (RE)

10%

Excerpt from income statement			Aluminum	Copper	Iron	Lead	Mercury
Sales						$68,679	$20,252	$56,620	$34,616	$20,414
EBIT						$5,287	$1,914	$4,262	$2,321	$2,653
Net income					$4,575	$1,381	$2,776	$1,411	$2,717
Excerpt from balance sheet				Aluminum	Copper	Iron	Lead	Mercury
Total assets					$85,297	$15,841	$73,768	$41,978	$32,192
Total debt					$44,442	$6,757	$29,461	$23,096	$22,706
Total equity					$40,855	$9,085	$44,307	$18,882	$9,486

Based on this information, answer the following questions in the corresponding answer tabs in this sheet.

Question 1

Use the following metrics (as given in this unit's interactive infographic) to calculate the performance of the steel industry:

1 - Economic income

2- Asset turnover

3- Leverage

4- Profit Margin

5- Return on Equity

	Aluminum	Copper	Iron	Lead	Mercury
Economic income
Asset turnover
Leverage
Profit margin
Return on equity

Question 2

Calculate the median ROE for the steel industry and assess the level of competition compared to the automotive industry, whose median is 9%.