Question

Soar Incorporated is considering eliminating its mountain bike division, which reported an operating loss for the recent year of $5,000. The division sales for the year were $1,052,000 and the variable costs were $862,000. The fixed costs of the division were $195,000. If the mountain bike division is dropped, 30% of the fixed costs allocated to that division could be eliminated. The impact on operating income for eliminating this business segment would be:

Answer 1

Eliminating the mountain bike division will result in a loss of sales revenue, but also savings on variable and some fixed costs. The net impact is a further decrease in operating income by $131,500, making it less advantageous to eliminate the division.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the impact on operating income for Soar Incorporated when considering the elimination of its mountain bike division, we need to evaluate the cost savings against the revenue that the division currently generates. The operating loss of the mountain bike division is $5,000, with sales of $1,052,000 and variable costs of $862,000. The fixed costs are $195,000, of which 30% can be eliminated if the division is dropped. Therefore, the savings in fixed costs are 0.30 x $195,000 = $58,500. If the mountain bike division is eliminated, the company would no longer incur its variable costs nor its segment of fixed costs, but it would also lose the division's sales revenue.

The calculation of the operating income impact would be as follows:

• Lost revenue from division elimination: $1,052,000
• Saved variable costs: $862,000
• Saved fixed costs (30% of $195,000): $58,500

The net impact on operating income is thus: $862,000 (saved variable costs) + $58,500 (saved fixed costs) - $1,052,000 (lost revenue) = - $131,500. This implies that eliminating the mountain bike division would decrease operating income by $131,500 compared to the current loss of $5,000, therefore eliminating the division will not be advantageous based on these financials alone.