Thank you for your reply, wow, this way sounds pretty complicated.....

It will be easier for me to use the answer in the previous posts.

Thanks again.
Louise

"Leo Heuser" wrote:

> "Louise" <Louise@discussions.microsoft.com> skrev i en meddelelse
> news:004475F0-E180-40EE-B538-22E3C7878639@microsoft.com...
> > Hi all
> >
> > I'm sure this will be an easy calculation for most of you...........
> >
> > If I have two numbers, ie. 390 and 217, how can I calculate the difference
> > between the two figures as a percentage? (These two figures represent
> > sales
> > in two months and I need to know the difference in percentage terms).
> >
> > Thank you.
> > Louise

>
> Hi Louise
>
> It depends on, what you compare the difference to,
> the first month or the second month.
>
> Month A: 390
> Month B: 217
>
> Always first find the difference: 390-217=173
>
> Now, If A is 173 larger than B, then B is 173 smaller
> then A, because the figure is an absolute value,
> but the same is not true for fractions (and % is
> hundredths). If C for instance is 20% larger than
> F, then it doesn't follow that F is 20% smaller than C.
>
> Here the difference is compared to B.
> How many % is A larger than B: (173/217)*100 = 79.7%
>
> and here the difference is compared to A.
> How many % is B smaller than A: (173/390)*100 = 44.4%
>
> --
> Best regards
> Leo Heuser
>
> Followup to newsgroup only please.
>
>
>
>