Introduction to Inventories and the Classified Income Statement
Analyzing and using the financial results - Gross margin percentage
As discussed earlier, you can calculate the gross margin percentage by using the following formula:
To demonstrate the use of this ratio, consider the following information from the 2000 Annual Report of Abercrombie & Fitch.
($millions) |
2000 |
1999 |
1998 |
Revenues |
$1,238.6 |
$1,030.9 |
$805.2 |
Gross profit |
509.4 |
450.4 |
331.4 |
Gross profit (margin) percentage |
$509.5/$1,238.6 = 41.13% |
$450.4/$1,030.9 = 43.69% |
$331.4/$805.2 = 41.16% |
Abercrombie's gross margin held at a rather high 41-43 per cent over those three years.
You should now understand the distinction between accounting for a service company and a merchandising company. The next chapter continues the discussion of merchandise inventory carried by merchandising companies.