Whirlwind Industries is a multiproduct company with several manufacturing plants
ID: 2453371 • Letter: W
Question
Whirlwind Industries is a multiproduct company with several manufacturing plants. The
Brownwood Plant manufactures and distributes two carpet cleaning products, Household
and Commercial, under the Karpet Kleen label. The forecasted operating results for the fi rst
six months of the year are presented in the following statement.
Karpet Kleen—Brownwood Plant
Forecasted Result of Operations
For the six months ended June 30
(in thousands)
Household Commercial Total
Units 100 100 200
Sales revenue $2,000 $3,000 $5,000
Cost of goods sold 1,600 1,900 3,500
Gross profi t $ 400 $1,100 $1,500
Selling & administrative expenses
Variable $ 400 $ 700 $1,100
Fixeda 240 360 600
Total selling & administrative expenses $ 640 $1,060 $1,700
Income (loss) before taxes $ (240) $ 40 $ (200)
The product costs per unit are as follows:
Household Commercial
Direct materials $ 7 $ 8
Direct labor 4 4
Variable manufacturing overhead 1 2
Fixed manufacturing overhead 4 5
Total product cost $16 $19
Each product is manufactured on a separate production line. Normal manufacturing capacity
is 200,000 cases of each product per year. However, the plant is capable of producing
250,000 cases of the Household product and 350,000 cases of the Commercial product
per year. Capacity levels assume an even fl ow of production throughout the year, so that
the maximum capacity for the second half of the year is 125,000 cases of Household and
175,000 of Commercial cases.
The following schedule refl ects the top management’s consensus regarding the price/
volume alternatives for Karpet Kleen products in the second six months of the year. These
are essentially the same alternatives management faced during the fi rst six months of the
year.
Household Commercial
Alternative Prices Unit Sales Alternative Prices Unit Sales
(per Unit) Volume (per Unit) Volume
$18 120,000 $25 175,000
20 100,000 27 140,000
21 90,000 30 100,000
22 80,000 32 55,000
23 50,000 35 35,000
Top management believes the company’s loss for the fi rst six months of the year refl ects
a tight profi t margin caused by intense competition. Management also believes that many
companies will be forced out of this market by the next year and that long-term profi ts
should improve.
Other Information
• Fixed manufacturing overhead per unit is based on normal manufacturing capacity.
• Depreciation constitutes 50% of the fi xed manufacturing overhead cost of each product
and is unavoidable.
• The remaining fi xed manufacturing overhead expenses arise from factory personnel assigned
to particular products.
• Variable selling and administrative expenses are $4 and $7 per unit, respectively, for the
Household and Commercial products.
Required
a. What unit selling price should Whirlwind Industries assign to each of the Karpet Kleen
products to maximize net income for the second six months of the year? Support your
answers with calculations.
b. Based on the unit prices you have chosen in part (a), what is the company’s expected
income before taxes for the second six months of the year? Support your answer with
an income statement prepared in the contribution margin format. Show the contribution
margin and the segment margin for each product.
c. Based on the unit prices you have chosen in part (a), should the Household product be
dropped for the second six months of the year? Support your answer.
d. Management has received a special order from CleanMe Corporation for 80,000 cases
of the Commercial product at a price of $20 per case. No sales commission would
need to be paid (sales commissions are normally $3.20 per case). Should they accept
this order? Support your answer with calculations and comment on the qualitative
considerations.
e. MakeIt Corporation has offered to make Karpet Kleen’s Household product for
$13 per case. Karpet Kleen would still sell the product to its customers. The company
could use its idle resources to make a new Extra Strength product. Management believes
the company could sell 45,000 cases of this new product for $40 per case; variable
selling and administrative expenses would be $7 per case. They expect that introducing
this product will reduce current unit sales of the Commercial product by 10%. What is
the maximum variable cost per unit of the Extra Strength product that would make this
proposition worthwhile? Support your answer with calculations and comment on the
qualitative considerations.
f. Without considering your answers to previous questions, assume that the optimum
price/volume alternatives for the second six months of the year were a selling price of
$23 and a volume of 50,000 cases for the Household product, and a selling price of
$35 and volume of 35,000 cases for the Commercial product. What was the company’s
expected income before taxes? Prepare an income statement in contribution margin
format.
g. Without considering your answers to previous questions, assume that the optimum
price/volume alternatives for the second six months of the year were a selling price
of $23 and a volume of 50,000 cases for the Household product, and a selling price
of $35 and volume of 35,000 cases for the Commercial product. Should Whirlwind
Industries consider closing down its operations to minimize its losses? Support your
answer with appropriate calculations and discuss the qualitative factors that should be
considered.
Explanation / Answer
Unit selling price that Whirlwind Industries assign to each of the Karpet Kleen products to maximize net income for the second six months of the year =
The product costs per unit are as follows:
Household Commercial
Direct materials $ 7 $ 8
Direct labor 4 4
Variable manufacturing overhead 4 7
Fixed manufacturing overhead 3 3.5
Other fixed manufacturing cost = 2 2.5
Total product cost $20 $25
Household Commercial
Alternative Prices Unit Sales Alternative Prices Unit Sales
(per Unit) Volume (per Unit) Volume
$20 100,000 = 2000000 $25 175,000= 4375000
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