Arlington Company Has Prepared the Following Common-Size Income Statement to Compare

question 93

Multiple Choice

Arlington Company has prepared the following common-size income statement to compare its performance with industry averages: $$\begin{array} { | l | r | r | } \hline & \text { Arlington Co. } & \text { Industry } \\\hline \text { Revenues } & 100.0 \% & 100.0 \% \\\hline \text { Cost of sales } & 43.8 \% & 39.7 \% \\\hline \text { Gross profit } & 56.2 \% & 60.3 \% \\\hline \text { Selling and general expenses: } & & \\\hline \text { Sales and marketing expense } & 18.1 \% & 21.4 \% \\\hline \text { General and administrative expense } & 12.0 \% & 14.2 \% \\\hline \text { Research and development expense } & 4.1 \% & 4.0 \% \\\hline \text { Total selling and general expenses } & 34.2 \% & 39.6 \% \\\hline & & \\\hline \text { Profit before tax } & 22.0 \% & 20.7 \% \\\hline \text { Income taxexpense } & 4.4 \% & 4.2 \% \\\hline \text { Profit (loss) } & 17.6 \% & 16.5 \% \\\hline\end{array}$$ Which of the following statements can be correctly concluded from the above data?

• A)Arlington achieves better results than the industry by earning higher revenues.
• B)Arlington achieves better profitability than the industry,primarily by controlling selling and general expenses more effectively.
• C)Arlington's profit is higher than the industry average.
• D)Arlington's gross profit per dollar of sales is higher than the industry average.

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Definitions:

Break-Even Point

The point at which total costs and total revenue are equal, meaning the business is not making a profit or a loss.

Net Loss

The amount by which expenses exceed revenues, indicating a negative profit.

Margin of Safety Percentage

A financial metric indicating the amount by which sales can drop before reaching the break-even point.

Fixed Expenses

are costs that do not fluctuate with the level of production or sales, such as rent, salaries, and insurance premiums.