Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Year	1 Year Ago	2 Years Ago
Assets
Cash	$ 31,400	$ 35,250	$ 37,400
Accounts receivable, net	87,000	63,500	51,000
Merchandise inventory	110,500	82,800	54,000
Prepaid expenses	10,350	9,350	4,700
Plant assets, net	276,000	256,500	235,000
Total assets	$ 515,250	$ 447,400	$ 382,100
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable	$ 129,600	$ 75,000	$ 51,000
Long-term notes payable	98,000	99,750	81,600
Common stock, $10 par value	162,000	162,000	162,000
Retained earnings	125,650	110,650	87,500
Total liabilities and equity	$ 515,250	$ 447,400	$ 382,100

The companys income statements for the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, follow.

For Year Ended December 31	Current Year		1 Year Ago
Sales		$ 765,000		$ 550,000
Cost of goods sold	$ 474,300		$ 352,000
Other operating expenses	237,150		132,000
Interest expense	12,100		13,200
Income tax expense	9,400		8,775
Total costs and expenses		732,950		505,975
Net income		$ 32,050		$ 44,025
Earnings per share		$ 1.98		$ 2.72

For both the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, compute the following ratios:

(1-a) Compute profit margin ratio for the current year and one year ago.

(1-b) Did profit margin improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?

(2) Compute total asset turnover for the current year and one year ago.

(3-a) Compute return on total assets for the current year and one year ago.

(3-b) Based on return on total assets, did Simon's operating efficiency improve or worsen in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?