ratios of revenue to assets. The tendency is for most companies to show
a return of less than 20 cents on the dollar regardless of size. Below a
ratio of .20 there are, for the smaller companies (i.e. 5-9 millions of
assets), 71.8 per cent of the cases, for the middle group of companies
(10-49 millions of assets) 67 per cent, and for the companies with 50
millions of assets or over 66.4 per cent.
Bukeau or Business Research
Universirr of licinors-1c
tf AVERAGE veRAGE
: (Mon~! Woor,
Jo
Ke
5
D
1 I I
= os RE = Ll
I INT S TIERED 32% ne 3
320 Tangs Ee Xs $82 New
S70 9 MIULIONS OF ASSETS 10 70 49 MILLIONS OF ASSETS SO MULION'S OR OVER OF ASSETS
Ratias Lxpressed as Percentages
Cuart lc—FRrEQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE REVENUE-TO-ASSETS
Ratios or PusLic UriLiry Companies By Size oF COMPANY
The modal averages are almost identical for the smaller companies
and those in the middle range of size. For the larger companies the
modal average is higher (.178 as compared to .142). The concentrated
50 per cent is suggested in the following:
5 2000 lan, rr te eh es 53.5 per cent between .08 and .20
10:50 4 millon, ois ss a is vee he ed hi 51.0 per cent between .12 and .24
50 TION OI OVET. cts rons ote tinis doutale as 48.8 per cent between .08 and .20
THE RATIO BY YEARS
The impression prevails that the public utility business is less sub-
ject to the cyclical fluctuations of general business than is industrial
enterprise. So we observe with interest the graphic illustration in
Chart 1d of the condition of the revenue-to-assets ratio in typical years.
The years selected (1917, 1919, 1921, 1924) are chosen to include the
principle phases of the general business cycle as indicated in the head-
ings of Table Id.
oo
109