TAN: Now, I'd like to refer to the first graph - as you can see this is a bar graph measuring net sales over the first ten months of the year.You'll notice that sales rose steadily in the first few months, then there was a marked increase in April. They peaked in May at around 3.2 million, and levelled off, then there was a dramatic drop in the following month, followed by a significant increase in August, and this trend has continued up until the present.
JOHN: What was the reason for the sudden drop in July?
TAN: This was mainly due to a drop off in air conditioner sales - so it's a seasonal effect.
DENISE: Could it be a consequence of the negative effect of the interest rate rise?
TAN: Possibly. Now, if I could draw your attention to this next diagram. This is a line graph of sales - the blue line represents air conditioner sales, the red line shows heaters. As you'll note, air conditioner sales dropped steadily from January to July, bottoming out then, while heater sales experienced a sharp increase from March to June, then dropped markedly from June to July, then declined through to September, with a pronounced drop in October.
JOHN: Does this explain the fluctuation in total sales?
TAN: Largely - if we look at this pie diagram, you can see that air conditioners and heaters together represent more than half of our total sales - but they vary seasonally, while other appliances are fairly steady through the year.
JOHN: Well, we can't sell air conditioners when it's cold. What's the solution?
TAN: Export to Europe and America!
DENISE: Easier said than done.
