Profit, Loss & Discount
Profit, Loss & Discount
Profit & Loss tests buying, selling, and discounting. Every SSC and banking paper carries P&L questions \u2014 dishonest dealer and successive discount variants dominate SSC CGL Tier 2. Always calculate profit% and loss% on Cost Price, never on Selling Price or Marked Price. Master the CP\u2013MP\u2013SP chain: CP decides profit/loss, MP decides discount, SP is what the buyer pays.
Key Idea
Profit% and Loss% are always calculated on Cost Price (CP) — never on Selling Price or Marked Price.
Core Formulas
Profit / Loss Percentage
P% or L% = (Profit or Loss / CP) × 100
Divide profit (or loss) by CP and multiply by 100 \u2014 never use SP as the base, even if the problem gives SP first.
Selling Price from CP and P%
SP = CP × (100 + P%) / 100
Compute the selling price directly from cost price and desired profit% \u2014 use the multiplier (100 + P%)/100 to skip intermediate steps.
Selling Price from CP and L%
SP = CP × (100 − L%) / 100
To find SP when CP and loss percentage are known.
SP after Discount on Marked Price
SP = MP × (100 − Discount%) / 100
When a discount is applied to the marked price to get actual selling price.
Faulty Weight Profit
Profit% = (True weight − False weight) / False weight × 100
When a dishonest dealer uses a lighter weight to give less goods.
Relevant Exams
Profit & Loss is present in virtually every SSC and banking exam. Dishonest dealer and successive discount variants are frequently tested in SSC CGL Tier 2.