Ramble On Co. wishes to maintain a growth rate of 8 percent a year, a debt-equity ratio of 0.37, and a dividend payout ratio of 54 percent. The ratio of total assets to sales is constant at 1.41. What profit margin must the firm achieve?

16.55%

Explanation:

Profit margin is the amount of earnings that a company has left when every expenses and costs have been deducted.

From the information given, firstly, we calculate the return on equity. This will be:

= Growth rate /(1 + Growth rate) × Retention ratio

= 8% / (1 + 8%) × 46%

= 0.08/(1 + 0.08) × 0.46

= 0.08/1.08 × 0.46

= 0.08/0.4968

= 0.1610

= 16.10%

Return on equity, ROE = 16.10%

We then calculate the profit margin. This will be:

= ROE / Asset turnover × Equity Multiplier

where,

Equity Multiplier = 1 + debt-equity ratio

= 1 + 0.37 = 1.37

Profit margin = ROE / Asset turnover × Equity Multiplier

= 16.10% / {(1/1.41) × 1.37}

= 16.10% / 0.71 × 1.37

= 0.1610 / 0.9727

= 0.1655

Profit margin = 16.55%