Calculating Profit Margin as a Percentage

This section explains how to calculate the profit margin as a percentage for the full year. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Select cell D15, which is below the profit margin for December.

2. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click the AutoSum button (see Figure 1-23).

   

   Figure 1-23. Calculating the sum with one mouse click.

   The sum is automatically calculated and displayed in the Profit Margin column (see Figure 1-24).

   

   Figure 1-24. Simplified calculation options with table formatting.

   Tip: Choose calculations options

   Did you notice the arrow to the right of the sum field? Click the arrow to open a menu, select one of the different options, and view the result (see Figure 1-25).

   

   Figure 1-25. The calculation options for table ranges.

3. Create the profit margin percentage in the column next to the Profit Margin column. When you enter the text in column E, the table formatting is automatically extended to the additional column (see Figure 1-26).

   

   Figure 1-26. Adding columns to the table.

4. Press the Enter key. The column is added to the table automatically and inherits the table layout (see Figure 1-27).

   

   Figure 1-27. New columns are automatically adjusted to the table layout.

5. To calculate the profit margin as a percentage for January, click cell E3 (Profit Margin (%) column, January row).

6. The formula is “the profit margin of January divided by the total profit margin.” To enter this in the cell, click cell D3 after the equal sign, type a forward slash, and then click cell D15 (see Figure 1-28).

   

   Figure 1-28. In Excel 2007 and Excel 2010, formulas include table values.

7. Press the Enter key to confirm. Because the data has been formatted as a table, the formula entered is automatically applied to all cells in the Profit Margin (%) column (see Figure 1-29).

   

   Figure 1-29. The formula is applied to all cells in the column.

8. Select the numeric values in the Profit Margin (%) column, and click the Percent Style button in the Number group on the Home Tab (see Figure 1-30).

   

   Figure 1-30. Numbers are displayed as percentages.

   The values are now displayed as percentages (see Figure 1-31).

Figure 1-31. The profit margins as percentages.