(Prepared from a situation suggested by Professor John W. Hardy.) Lone Star Meat Packers is a major processor of beef and other meat products. The company has a large amount of T-bone steak on hand, and it is trying to decide whether to sell the T-bone steaks as they are initially cut or to process them further into filet mignon and the New York cut.
If the T-bone steaks are sold as initially cut, the company figures that a 1-pound T-bone steak would yield the following profit:
Selling price ($2.20 per pound) | $ | 2.20 |
Less joint costs
incurred up to the split-off point where T-bone steak can be identified as a separate product |
1.45 | |
Profit per pound | $ | 0.75 |
If the company were to further process the T-bone steaks, then cutting one side of a T-bone steak provides the filet mignon and cutting the other side provides the New York cut. One 16-ounce T-bone steak cut in this way will yield one 6-ounce filet mignon and one 8-ounce New York cut; the remaining ounces are waste. It costs $0.12 to further process one T-bone steak into the filet mignon and New York cuts. The filet mignon can be sold for $4.40 per pound, and the New York cut can be sold for $3.20 per pound.
Required:
1. What is the financial advantage (disadvantage) of further processing one T-bone steak into filet mignon and New York cut steaks?
2. Would you recommend that the T-bone steaks be sold as initially cut or processed further?
1 | ||
Per 16-Ounce T-Bone | ||
Sales from further processing: | ||
Sales price of one filet mignon | 1.65 | =4.4/16*6 |
Sales price of one New York cut | 1.60 | =3.2/16*8 |
Total revenue from further processing | 3.25 | |
Less sales revenue from one T-bone steak | 2.20 | |
Incremental revenue from further processing | 1.05 | |
Less cost of further processing | 0.12 | |
Profit per pound from further processing | 0.93 | |
Financial advantage = 0.93 per unit | ||
2 | ||
T-bone steaks should be processed further. |
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