The answer is option C in my view.Preambles: Holdens Ltd has two subsidiaries, and they performed with remarkable consistency over the past five years.
Each year Lexton accounts for about 30% of dollar sales and 60% of profits with Stillmore accounting for the rest.
Implying Stillmore accounts for about 70% of dollar sales and 30% of profits.
Option A: Total dollar sales for each of the subsidiaries have remained roughly constant. This is not necessarily true based on the information provided. The total dollar sales can be different in each of the five years but what we know is that Lexton accounts for 30% of the total sales and Stillmore accounts for 70%. Eliminate A.
B. Lexton has faced stiffer competition in its markets than has Stillmore. There is no information to suggest that Lexton faced stiffer competition compared with Stillmore per the argument. Eliminate option B.
C. Stillmore has realized lower profits per dollar of sales than has Lexton.
Correct. From the information provided, we can make a valid deduction that Stillmore realized lower profits per dollar of sales. This is because Stillmore's sales account for 70% of dollar sales while its profitability represents 40% of the total profits. It is therefore a valid deduction to make since these ratios are in reference to the total sales volume and profits of Holden Ltd.
D. The product mix offered by each of the company's divisions has remained unchanged. Irrelevant to the argument. Eliminate D.
E. Highly profitable products accounted for a higher percentage of Stillmore's sales than of those of Lexton. This is not a valid deduction from the information provided in the argument. In any case despite the fact that Stillmore's total sales are 70% of the total sales volume, its profits account for 30% of the total profits, hence it does not make much sense to say that highly profitable products account for a higher percentage of Stillmore's sales than Lexton. Eliminate E as well.