CAT 2022 Slot 2 · DILR · Question 15

CAT 2022 Slot 2 previous year question on Reasoning Based DI, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.

Reasoning Based DIDATA INTERPRETATION -High LevelMultiple choiceMedium

Set 3: Revenue, Costs and Employees of Four Companies — this question belongs to a set. Read the full set with all 5 questions →

The two plots below show data for four companies code-named A, B, C, and D over three years - 2019, 2020, and 2021.

The first plot shows the revenues and costs incurred by the companies during these years. For example, in 2021, company C earned Rs.100 crores in revenue and spent Rs.30 crores. The profit of a company is defined as its revenue minus its costs.

The second plot shows the number of employees employed by the company (employee strength) at the start of each of these three years, as well as the number of new employees hired each year (new hires). For example, Company B had 250 employees at the start of 2021, and 30 new employees joined the company during the year.

Profit per employee is the ratio of a company's profit to its employee strength. For this purpose, the employee strength in a year is the average of the employee strength at the beginning of that year and the beginning of the next year. In 2020, which of the four companies had the highest profit per employee?

A
Company D
B
Company C
C
Company B
D
Company A

Pick an option, then check.

Answer & solution

Answer: Option C

Solving the set

Step 1 – Read the first plot (revenue on the horizontal axis, cost on the vertical axis) and compute profit = revenue − cost (Rs. crores).

Company	2019 (Rev, Cost, Profit)	2020 (Rev, Cost, Profit)	2021 (Rev, Cost, Profit)
A	90, 85, 5	90, 65, 25	60, 30, 30
B	100, 75, 25	90, 40, 50	30, 30, 0
C	25, 20, 5	70, 60, 10	100, 30, 70
D	50, 40, 10	20, 50, −30	70, 70, 0

Step 2 – Read the second plot (employee strength at the start of the year on the horizontal axis, new hires on the vertical axis).

Company	Start 2019	Hires 2019	Start 2020	Hires 2020	Start 2021	Hires 2021
A	150	20	140	35	150	25
B	210	35	240	45	250	30
C	325	45	325	40	325	35
D	400	30	410	35	400	40

Step 3 – Employees lost during a year = strength at the start + hires − strength at the start of the next year.

This question

Company	Profit 2020	Average strength 2020	Profit per employee
A	25	(140 + 150)/2 = 145	0.172
B	50	(240 + 250)/2 = 245	0.204
C	10	325	0.031
D	−30	(410 + 400)/2 = 405	negative

Company B had the highest profit per employee in 2020.

Hence, the answer is option 3.

CAT 2022 Slot 2 · DILR · Question 15

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