Table:
|  | Fiscal Year |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ($ in millions) | 2018 | 2017 |
| Net sales | $2,157.7 | $1,797.6 |
| Less: surcharge revenue | 365.4 | 239.2 |
| Net sales excluding surcharge revenue | $1,792.3 | $1,558.4 |
| Gross profit | $382.3 | $300.8 |
| Gross margin | 17.7% | 16.7% |
| Gross margin excluding surcharge revenue | 21.3% | 19.3% |
Paragraphs:
Gross Profit
Gross profit in fiscal year 2018 increased to $382.3 million, or 17.7 percent of net sales from $300.8 million, or 16.7 percent of net sales for fiscal year 2017. Excluding the impact of the surcharge revenue, our gross margin in fiscal year 2018 was 21.3 percent compared to 19.3 percent in fiscal year 2017. The results reflect the impact of stronger demand and improved product mix coupled with operating cost improvements compared to fiscal year 2017.
Our surcharge mechanism is structured to recover increases in raw material costs, although in certain cases with a lag effect as discussed above. While the surcharge generally protects the absolute gross profit dollars, it does have a dilutive effect on gross margin as a percent of sales. The following represents a summary of the dilutive impact of the surcharge on gross margin. We present and discuss these financial measures because management believes removing the impact of surcharge provides a more consistent and meaningful basis for comparing results of operations from period to period. See the section “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for further discussion of these financial measures.
Question:
What was the gross profit in 2017 as a percentage of net sales?
Answer: 16.7 percent