Cane Company manufactures two products called Alpha and Beta that sell for $175 and $135, respectively. Each product uses only one type of raw material that costs $5 per pound. The company has the capacity to annually produce 117,000 units of each product. Its unit costs for each product at this level of activity are given below: Alpha Beta Direct materials $ 40 $ 15 Direct labor 30 30 Variable manufacturing overhead 18 16 Traceable fixed manufacturing overhead 26 29 Variable selling expenses 23 19 Common fixed expenses 26 21 Total cost per unit $ 163 $ 130 The company considers its traceable fixed manufacturing overhead to be avoidable, whereas its common fixed expenses are deemed unavoidable and have been allocated to products based on sales dollars.
1. Assume that Cane normally produces and sells 71,000 Betas and 91,000 Alphas per year. If Cane discontinues the Beta product line, its sales representatives could increase sales of Alpha by 11,000 units. If Cane discontinues the Beta product line, how much would profits increase or decrease?
2. Assume that Cane expects to produce and sell 91,000 Alphas during the current year. A supplier has offered to manufacture and deliver 91,000 Alphas to Cane for a price of $124 per unit. If Cane buys 91,000 units from the supplier instead of making those units, how much will profits increase or decrease?
3. Assume that Cane expects to produce and sell 61,000 Alphas during the current year. A supplier has offered to manufacture and deliver 61,000 Alphas to Cane for a price of $124 per unit. If Cane buys 61,000 units from the supplier instead of making those units, how much will profits increase or decrease?