[COPO 70 RS/Z28]

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Net profit is the measure of efficiency of a company. You have to divide net income before taxes by gross sales and express as a percent. When compared with prior periods, net profit on sales can reveal management efficiency trends.

However, I guess what I was getting at is that often, when a number is announced to the press, the public gets upset and say, "Look at those oil men . . . they're ripping us off!" when the reality is their profit margin is not something to shout home about.

Regardless, I believe profit is good and I don't hate a company that's maximizing profit.

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You have to look at ROI, if you look at profit as a component of return on investment over the last 10 years the industry underperformed most Major Industrial sectors.