Statement of Variable Cost, Fixed Cost, and Sales Volume

Learning Outcomes

  • Prepare a statement that shows a change in variable cost, fixed cost, and sales volume

As if competition and fixed cost increases weren’t enough, now we just found out our best supplier is raising the cost of a component of our best-selling widget. With the new company also using parts, there is a shortage, giving our supplier the opportunity to get a little more for his parts. Your boss is now in major crisis mode, trying to figure out a way to continue to show a profit with potential lower sales volumes and increasing prices for every imaginable thing! Of course this lands on your shoulders, so let’s get busy.

So now we have:

  1. A lower selling price at $8 per widget
  2. Higher fixed costs at $440 per month
  3. Higher variable costs at $5.50 per widget

It looks as if everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong!  Here is the bad news in chart form:

Cost-Volume-Profit
Monte Corporation
Number Sold 1 50 100 150 200
Price per Item $8 $400 $800 $1,200 $1,600
Variable cost per item $6 $275 $550 $825 $1,100
Contribution Margin $3 $125 $250 $375 $500
Fixed Costs $440 $440 $440 $440 $440
Profit (loss) ($438) ($315) ($190) ($65) $60

Let’s expand our chart a bit now, and see how we can improve profits:

Cost-Volume-Profit
Monte Corporation
Number Sold 1 50 100 150 200 250 300
Price per Item $8 $400 $800 $1,200 $1,600 $2,000 $2,400
Variable cost per item $6 $275 $550 $825 $1,100 $1,375 $1,650
Contribution Margin $3 $125 $250 $375 $500 $625 $750
Fixed Costs $440 $440 $440 $440 $440 $440 $440
Profit (loss) ($438) ($315) ($190) ($65) $60 $185 $310

If we sell more product, we can make more money! Now, you will need to figure out how to make that happen!

Practice Questions