Question

Midlands Inc. had a bad year in 2019. For the first time in its history, it operated at a loss. The company’s income statement showed the following results from selling 79,000 units of product: net sales $1,580,000; total costs and expenses $1,637,040; and net loss $57,040. Costs and expenses consisted of the following.

	Total	Variable	Fixed
Cost of goods sold	972000	486000	486000
Selling expenses	517040	90000	427040
Admin expenses	148000	56000	92000
Total	1637040	632000	1005040

Management is considering the following independent alternatives for 2020.

1.		Increase unit selling price 25% with no change in costs and expenses.
2.		Change the compensation of salespersons from fixed annual salaries totaling $203,000 to total salaries of $36,985 plus a 5% commission on net sales.
3.		Purchase new high-tech factory machinery that will change the proportion between variable and fixed cost of goods sold to 50:50.

(a) Compute the break-even point in dollars for 2019. (Round contribution margin ratio to 4 decimal places e.g. 0.2512 and final answer to 0 decimal places, e.g. 2,510.)

Break-even point =

(b) Compute the break-even point in dollars under each of the alternative courses of action for 2020. (Round contribution margin ratio to 3 decimal places e.g. 0.251 and final answers to 0 decimal places, e.g. 2,510.)

1. Increase selling price =

2. Change compensation =

3. Purchase machinery =

Which course of action do you recommend?

Answer 1