LeCompte Corp. has $312,900 of assets, and it uses only common equity capital (zero debt). Its sales for the last year were $620,000, and its net income after taxes was $24,655. Stockholders recently voted in a new management team that has promised to lower costs and get the return on equity up to 15%. What profit margin would LeCompte need in order to achieve the 15% ROE, holding everything else constant?A) 7.57%.B) 7.95%. C) 8.35%.
D) 8.76%.
E) 9.20%.

LeCompte Corp.

The profit margin that LeCompte Corp. would need in order to achieve the 15% ROE, holding everything else constant is:

A) 7.57%.

Explanation:

a) Data and Calculations:

Assets = $312,900

Common Equity = Assets = $312,900

Sales for the last year = $620,000

Net income after taxes = $24,655

Expected return on equity (ROE) = 15%

ROE (in amount) =  $312,900 * 15% = $46,935

Profit margin = Returns on Equity/ Sales * 100

= $46,935/$620,000 * 100

= 7.57%

b) The expected returns on equity in dollars is equal to the net income.  Therefore, we can use the ROE to calculate the profit margin.  The profit margin expresses the relationship between sales and profit.  It shows the profit made from each dollar sales.