Luna Lighting, a retail firm, has experienced modest sales growth over the past three yearsbut has had difficulty translating the expansion of sales into improved profitability. Usingthree years’ financial statements, you have developed the following ratio calculations and industry comparisons. Based on this information, suggest possible reasons for Luna’s profitabilityproblems.
2009 2008 2007 2009
Industry
Current 2.3X 2.3X 2.2X 2.1X
Average collection period 45 days 46 days 47 days 50 days
Inventory turnover 8.3X 8.2X 8.1X 8.3X
Fixed asset turnover 2.7X 3.0X 3.3 3.5X
Total asset turnover 1.1 1.2X 1.3X 1.5X
Debt ratio 50% 50% 50% 54%
Times interest earned 8.1X 8.2X 8.1X 7.2X
Fixed charge coverage 4.0X 4.5X 5.5X 5.1X
Gross profit margin 43% 43% 43% 40%
Operating profit margin 6.3 7.2% 8.0% 7.5%
Net profit margin 3.5% 4.0% 4.3% 4.2%
Return on assets 3.7% 5.0% 5.7% 6.4%
Return on equity 7.4% 9.9% 11.4% 11.8%