What conditions must exist in order for a pure monopolist to achieve economic profits? Is the profitability of a firm’s operation a good index of the degree of monopoly power it possesses?

What will be an ideal response?

To be profitable the monopolist must produce a price-quantity combination in the elastic segment of its demand curve, and this must also be a position where the total cost does not exceed the total revenue. Pure monopolists that face high costs and weak demand may experience losses in the short run.
Profitability is a good index of the degree of monopoly power, but monopoly power may exist without profitability in the short run. However, monopolies exhibiting a high economic profit probably do have a high degree of monopoly power. They are not subject to the threat of competition from new entrants nor from substitute products. High profits would likely not exist if the firm feared competition. It would either keep its profits down so the industry would not be as attractive to potential competitors, or it would incur additional costs in trying to retain the barriers that gave it the monopoly power.