Clarify something for me --- when you refer to "margin" are you...

Clarify something for me --- when you refer to "margin" are you referring to a $amount or a %amount

If it cost you $900 to make something and you sold that for $1800 ... that's a 50% Gross Margin ...and $900 Gross Profit and some (non-finance) people call that their gross profit margin. Useful maybe? I don't see it that way. Common size analyis will all use percentage based analysis, even better as it "benchmark" to either your company, another peer or a "sector basket".

If it cost you $12,000 to maket something you then sell for $15,000 ... that's a 20% Gross Margin and $3,000 Gross Profit, and very clearly $3,000 is far bigger than $900. But absolute dollar comparisons are not that useful. I look at it (the business overall) and I see a comparison of 20% Gross Margin to 50% Gross Margin. But it doesn't stop there either.

I don't know your background @Kevo88 so there is not much point in pursuing it further. When I say "it doesn't stop there" what I mean by that is that we are now looking at business that have a large difference in the capital intensity (as in how many $$ are needed to get $1 of revenue (gross) and then on net income side what's needed to earn that). Lots more to consider especially in the integrated refiner example and especially more so when/if transfer pricing has to be considered

So that is why I say the "margins" favor miners ... especially when prices are higher .... and favor refiners when prices are lower.

Just remember PLL (via CLP) was always an integrated refiner ... so right there you should at least pick up on my thoughts on the refininig scenarios.

Harping my arse.