Answer:
Time Warner, Inc.
a.
Turner Home Box Office Warner Bros. Total
Segment Revenues
(in millions) $21,700 $22,200 $80,600 $124,500
Variable costs 4,774 10,434 25,792 41,000
Contribution margin $16,926 $11,766 $54,808 $83,500
Contribution ratio 78% (100 - 22) 53% (100 -47) 68% (100 -32) 67%
b. Certainly, Turnover and Warner Bros. are more profitable businesses than Home Box Office in terms of total contribution margin (dollars) and contribution margin ratio.
Explanation:
a) Data and Calculations:
Segment Revenues
(in millions)
Turner (cable networks and digital media) $21,700
Home Box Office (pay television) 22,200
Warner Bros. (films, television, and videos) 80,600
Assume that the variable costs as a percent of sales for each segment are as follows:
Turner 22%
Home Box Office 47%
Warner Bros. 32%
b) The contribution margin ratio for the three segments can easily be determined by subtracting the variable costs percentages from 100 for each segment instead of doing more computations (Contribution margin/Sales Revenue * 100). But the results are the same for either method.
