Final answer:
To find the profit last year, subtract the profit increase from this year's profit. In this case, the IT company made a profit of $1.38 million, which is $2.54 million more than last year. Therefore, last year's profit was -$1.16 million (a loss of $1.16 million).
Step-by-step explanation:
To find out the profit last year, we need to subtract the profit increase from this year's profit. In this case, the IT company made a profit of $1.38 million, which is $2.54 million more than last year. So, to find the profit last year, we subtract the profit increase from this year's profit:
Last year's profit = This year's profit - Profit increase = $1.38 million - $2.54 million = -$1.16 million.
Therefore, last year's profit was -$1.16 million (a loss of $1.16 million).