Net sales, net income, and total assets for Azbell Shipping, Inc., for a five-year period follow:

Requirements
1. Compute trend percentages for each item for 2014 through 2017. Use 2013 as the base year and round to the nearest percent.
2. Compute the return on net sales for 2015 through 2017, rounding to three decimal places. Explain what this means.
3. Compute asset turnover for 2015 through 2017. Explain what this means.
4. Compute the return on average total assets (ROA) for 2015 through 2017.
5. How does Azbell Shipping's return on net sales compare with previous years? How does it compare with that of the industry? In the shipping industry, rates above 5% are considered good, and rates above 7% are outstanding.
6. Evaluate Azbell Shipping, Inc.'s ROA for 2017, compared with previous years, and against a 15% benchmark for the industry.

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(in thousands) 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 41 300 262 253223 201 41 39 34 27 Total assets . .