Questions 4.1 - 4.3

4.1 (5%)
Prepare the balance sheet as at 31 December 2022 for U-Pejs A/S. It is not necessary to prepare notes.

The trial balance (balance totals) can be found in Appendix 4.
A template for the balance sheet can be found in Appendix 6.

4.2 (5%)
Calculate the return on investment, the solvency ratio and the liquidity ratio for U-Pejs A/S for the year 2022.

4.3 (5%)
Assess how the key figures ‘return on investment’, ‘solvency ratio’ and ‘liquidity ratio’ might influence the decision to establish a department in Norway. See question 4.2.

Assignment 4

Reporting and financial analysis

U-Pejs A/S is a Danish trading company that imports and sells outdoor fireplaces to fireplace centres across most of the country. U-Pejs A/S is owned and run by Søren Clausen, who established the company in 2017 after completing his economics degree at Aarhus University.

It was a long-held dream of Søren Clausen to become self-employed, so he was determined to find a business idea. Based on a report from the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies on future Scandinavian home and garden design, he conceived the company’s idea: “To meet the need for beautiful outdoor fireplaces for the quality-conscious consumer”.

To begin with, Søren Clausen did not know very much about outdoor fireplaces, but he quickly learned about the product and started the company U-Pejs A/S, which has now been running for almost five years. During this period, the company has experienced strong growth, and now posts revenue of approx. DKK 250 million a year.

The sales manager believes that it is not possible to grow much more on the Danish market, and has therefore proposed that U-Pejs A/S establishes a department in Norway, where it is assumed there is a considerable need for outdoor fireplaces because of the cold climate. However, Søren Clausen wants to wait and see whether profitability, solvency and liquidity are satisfactory in the 2022 financial statements.

In connection with the preparation of the annual report for 2022, the finance manager has printed the trial balance (balance totals), which is presented in Appendix 4 in the Excel file. The finance manager has prepared the income statement (profit and loss account) for 2022. See Appendix 5 of the Excel file.

Questions 3.1 - 3.3

3.1 (5%)
Calculate index figures to shed light on the development in Proto-Print A/S’s environmental impact from 2020 to 2022.

The information you need can be found in Appendix 3 of the Excel file.

3.2 (5%)
Analyse the development in Proto-Print A/S’s environmental impact from 2020 to 2022. See question 3.1.

3.3 (5%)
Assess whether the strengthened CSR profile has changed the company’s competitive strategy.

Assignment 3

CSR analysis and strategy

Proto-Print A/S was founded in 1995 by the two technology geeks Ole Jensen and Claus Rasmussen, and for more than 25 years has been helping prominent companies and entrepreneurs in Denmark and abroad with 3D printed items. Proto-Print A/S offers to print prototypes for companies that are developing a new product so that it can be tested before being put into production. The company also offers to print small series of products in plastic.

When Ole Jensen and Claus Rasmussen set up the company, there were no other similar suppliers on the market. In recent years, several companies have been started in Denmark offering the same service as Proto-Print A/S, and competition has become very tough with a strong focus on price.

At a meeting of the board of directors three years ago, it was therefore decided to strengthen the company’s CSR profile. The environmental impact of production had not previously been a focus area, but developments in society and customer interest in the environmental impact of printed items, as well as fierce competition, led to the decision to strengthen the company’s CSR profile.

To reduce the company’s environmental impact, several of its large 3D printers were replaced with more energy-efficient models that also consume less plastic when printing. In the packaging department, there has been considerable focus on the consumption of plastic, which has now been replaced as far as possible with recycled cardboard.

Questions 2.1 - 2.4

2.1 (5%)
Calculate the variable unit costs (VUCs) for CheapWheels when purchasing 1,000 units.

The information you need can be found in Appendix 2.

2.2 (5%)
Calculate the contribution margin per unit and the contribution margin for the entire consignment of CheapWheels.

2.3 (5%)
Assess how many CheapWheels e-scooters would need to be sold to cover the costs of the marketing drive.

2.4 (5%)
Assess why the sales manager believes that Sprint A/S should not sell cheaper e-scooter models.

Assignment 2

Calculation and earnings

Sprint A/S, based in Silkeborg, imports high-quality e-scooters from the USA and resells them to specialist shops in Denmark. Sprint A/S has 90% of the market for quality e-scooters. For some time, the procurement manager has been on the lookout for cheaper models which can be sold through major retail chains such as Power, El-Giganten and thansen. At a trade fair in Texas, USA, the procurement manager found a new model, CheapWheels, at a much lower purchase price than the models in the company’s current range.

The purchase price for 1,000 CheapWheels e-scooters is USD 48 per unit. The exchange rate for USD 100 is DKK 701. The insurance premium is 4% of the purchase price, and the freight cost from the USA to the Port of Hamburg is USD 2,000. A Danish logistics company will transport the e-scooters from Hamburg to Silkeborg at a cost of DKK 4,500. The customs duty on the e-scooters from the USA is DKK 50 per unit, while the forwarding costs for the entire consignment total DKK 1,200.

In the opinion of the sales manager, the new e-scooters should be sold at a price of DKK 598 each. However, she is less enthusiastic about CheapWheels, and thinks it is a bad idea to sell cheaper models.

If Sprint A/S decides to purchase the CheapWheels e-scooters, the scooters will need to be marketed to potential customers, which will cost DKK 25,000.

Questions 1.1 - 1.6

1.1 (10%)
Based on the accompanying material, explain which factors have impacted T. Hansen Gruppen A/S’s financial development from 2019 to 2021.

1.2 (15%)
Analyse the development in the index figures for earnings and asset use efficiency (capital adjustment) from 2019 to 2021 based on these factors. See question 1.1.

The key figures can be found in Appendix 1 of the Excel file.

1.3 (10%)
Assess how the development in the index figures affected the profit margin ratio and the asset turnover ratio from 2019 to 2021.

The key figures can be found in Appendix 1 of the Excel file.

1.4 (5%)
Explain why the return on equity (ROE) is greater than the return on investment in 2021.

The key figures can be found in Appendix 1 of the Excel file.

1.5 (5%)
Assess which growth strategies are being pursued by T. Hansen Gruppen A/S.

1.6 (5%)
Assess how T. Hansen Gruppen A/S’s business model will be affected when the company expands into the Swedish market.

Assignment 1

Company analysis

T. Hansen Gruppen A/S was established in 1991. The group consists of the retail chain thansen and the wholesale company AD Danmark A/S. thansen has 84 retail stores in Denmark and 39 in Norway, which all sell motor scooters, bicycles, electronics, camping equipment, fireworks etc. as well as spare parts and accessories for cars, mopeds, motor scooters and bicycles. Recently, the range has been expanded to include boats and maritime equipment. AD Danmark A/S sells and distributes spare parts for cars to the professional market through 38 branches in Denmark.

Founded by Bent Jensen, the company was initially a hobby project which later became a mail-order business selling equipment and spare parts for mopeds. The company grew strongly from the outset, and later expanded to include mobile phone accessories and car spare parts. In November 2002, Bent Jensen opened the first thansen concept store in Kolding, and in 2003 he also acquired a number of car spare parts stores, which marked the start of the nationwide thansen chain. In the following years, the product range was regularly expanded, and thansen went from being a niche store to serving all Danes.

Today, thansen’s value proposition is offering customers a high level of service through a large network of stores with a wide range of products, an online store with Click & Collect, fast shipping and delivery, price matching and a 365-day full return policy.

In 2017, T. Hansen Gruppen A/S was ready to expand beyond Denmark, and so acquired the Norwegian chain Torshov Bilrekvisita AS. Since then, T. Hansen Gruppen A/S has continuously grown its business in Norway, where there are now 39 thansen stores.

In 2016, AD Danmark A/S was established when T. Hansen Gruppen A/S acquired the wholesale company Mekonomen Danmark A/S. AD Danmark A/S supplies high-quality spare parts to the professional automotive industry, and stocks all types of spare parts at attractive prices.

In 2021, T. Hansen Gruppen A/S had 1,060 employees. It posted total revenue of DKK 1,867 million, and a profit before tax of DKK 229 million.

 This assignment comes with the following material:

Articles:

• Things went crazy in corona year: Profit of DKK 163 million for Middelfart company, TV2 FYN, 7 June 2021 Article 1
• T. Hansen billionaire earns record millions, FINANS, 4 May 2022 Article 2
• T. Hansen Gruppen continues to conquer the market and posts spectacular results, Avisen.dk, 4 May 2022 Article 3

Key figures:

• Adapted accounting and key figures for T. Hansen Gruppen A/S for the years 2019 to 2021. See Appendix 1 of the Excel file.

Instructions

This material consists of four assignments. Each assignment has a number of questions which have all been given an approximate weighting. The weightings are used in the overall exam assessment.

All the assignments must be completed independently of each other. The assignments come with an accompanying Excel file, which has a number of appendices containing data and templates. In addition, there is a Word document containing all the questions.

Download:

The Word document with all the questions can be downloaded here: Word-file

The Excel document with all the appendices can be downloaded here: Excel-file

Remember:

Save the files on your computer before you start to use them.

Communication with anyone else during the exam is not permitted.