You have just been hired as a financial analyst for Lydex Company, a manufacturer of safety helmets Your boss has asked you to perform a comprehensive analysis of the company's financial statements, including comparing Lydex's performance to its major competitors. The company's financial statements for the last two years are as follows: To beginyour assignment you gather the following financial data and ratios that are typical of companies in Lydex Company's industry To begin your assignment you gather the following financial data and ratios that are typical of companies in Lydex Companys industry: Required: 1. You decide first to assess the company's performance in terms of debt management and profitabiity Compute the following for both this year and last year: (Round your "Percentage" answers to 1 decimal place and other answers to 2 decimal places.) The times interest earned rato The debt-to-equity ratio: c. The gross margin percentage. d. The retum on total assets. (lotal assets at the beginning of last year were $13,150,000 ) e. The return on equity (Stockholders equity at the beginning of last year totaled $8.503.550. There has been no change in common stock over the last two years) t is the company's financial leverage positive or negative