FIN 302 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Sunk Costs, Net Present Value, Cash Flow
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The conference on evaluating capital projects has been very helpful. You have received a significant amount of information and multiple projects to evaluate to hone your skills. To adequately teach Grammy and the board you will need to answer several questions about the capital-budgeting process. You will do this in a business memo that is no more than four pages long.
Provide an evaluation of two proposed project, both with a 5-year expected lives and identical initial outlays of $110,000. Both of these projects involve additions to a highly successful product line, and as a result, the required rate of return on both projects has been established at 12 percent. The expected free cash flows from each project are as follows:
Project A | Project B | |
Initial outlay | -$110,000 | -$110,000 |
Inflow year 1 | 20,000 | 40,000 |
Inflow year 2 | 30,000 | 40,000 |
Inflow year 3 | 40,000 | 40,000 |
Inflow year 4 | 50,000 | 40,000 |
Inflow year 5 | 70,000 | 40,000 |
In evaluating these projects, please respond to the following question:
Why is the capital-budgeting process so important?
Why is it difficult to find exceptionally profitable projects?
What is the payback period on each project? If the organization imposes a 3-year maximum acceptable payback period, which of these projects should be accepted?
What are the criticisms of the payback period?
Determine the NPV for each of these projects. Should they be accepted?
Describe the logic behind the NPV.
Determine the PI for each of these projects. Should they be accepted?
Would you expect the NPV and PI methods to give consistent accept/reject decisions? Why or why not?
What would happen to the NPV and PI for each project if the required rate of return increased? If the required rate of return decreased?
Determine the IRR for each project. Should they be accepted?
How does a change in the required rate of return affect the projectâs internal rate of return?
What reinvestment rate assumptions are implicitly made by the NPV and IRR methods? Which one is better?
Your first assignment in your new position as assistant financial analyst at Caledonia Products is to evaluate two new capital-budgeting proposals. Because this is your first assignment, you have been asked not only to provide a recommendation but also to respond to a number of questions aimed at assessing your understanding of the capital-budgeting process. This is a standard procedure for all new financial analysts at Caledonia, and it will serve to determine whether you are moved directly into the capital-budgeting analysis department or are provided with remedial training. The memorandum you received outlining your assignment follows:
To: The New Financial Analysts
From: Mr. V. Morrison, CEO, Caledonia Products
Re: Capital-Budgeting Analysis
Provide an evaluation of two proposed projects, both with 5-year expected lives and identical initial outlays of
$110,000. Both of these projects involve additions to Caledoniaâs highly successful Avalon product line, and as
a result, the required rate of return on both projects has been established at 12 percent. The expected free cash
flows from each project are as follows:
Project A | Project B | ||
Initial outlay | -$110,000 | -$110,000 | |
Inflow year 1 | 20,000 | 40,000 | |
Inflow year 2 | 30,000 | 40,000 | |
Inflow year 3 | 40,000 | 40,000 | |
Inflow year 4 | 50,000 | 40,000 | |
Inflow year 5 | 70,000 | 40,000 |
In evaluating these projects, please respond to the following questions. For questions from (a) to (j) assume that the projects are independent. That is both could be accepted if both are acceptable.
a. What is the payback period on each project? If Caledonia imposes a 3-year maximum acceptable payback period, which of these projects should be accepted?
b. What are the criticisms of the payback period?
c. Determine the NPV for each of these projects. Should they be accepted?
d. Describe the logic behind the NPV.
e. Determine the PI for each of these projects. Should they be accepted?
f. Would you expect the NPV and PI methods to give consistent accept/reject decisions? Why or why not?
g. Determine the IRR for each project. Should they be accepted?
h. What reinvestment rate assumptions are implicitly made by the NPV and IRR methods? Which one is better?
i. Determine the MIRR for each project. Should they be accepted?
j. Describe the logic behind the MIRR.
k. Rank the two project based on all above criteria and make a recommendation as to which (if either) should be
accepted under the assumption that the projects are mutually exclusive.
l. Caledonia is considering two additional mutually exclusive projects. The free cash flows associated with these projects are as follows:
Project A | Project B | ||
Initial outlay | -$100,000 | -$100,000 | |
Inflow year 1 | 32,000 | 0 | |
Inflow year 2 | 32,000 | 0 | |
Inflow year 3 | 32,000 | 0 | |
Inflow year 4 | 32,000 | 0 | |
Inflow year 5 | 32,000 | 200,000 |
The required rate of return on these projects is 11 percent.
1. What is each projectâs payback period?
2. What is each projectâs NPV?
3. What is each projectâs IRR?
4. What has caused the ranking conflict?
5. Which project should be accepted? Why?
I ONLY NEED TO DO PART l. (the last question) I need to answer questions 1-5
The discounted dividend model can be used to value divisions and firms that do not pay dividends. For the discounted dividend model, a firm's weighted average cost of capital is used as the discount rate. For the corporate valuation model, a firm's cost of equity is used as the discount rate. |
For the constant growth model to hold, a firm's cost of equity needs to be greater than its constant dividend growth rate (i.e., rs > g). From the constant growth model, if the constant dividend growth rate is equal to zero, a firm's share price is equal to the constant dividend divided by the cost of equity (i.e., g=0). If a company's constant dividend growth rate is negative, the formula for the constant growth model cannot be applied. |
The internal rate of return method (IRR) assumes that cash flows are reinvested at the internal rate of return. The modified internal rate of return method (MIRR) assumes that cash flows are reinvested at the weighted average cost of cpaital. For mutually exclusive projects, if there is a conflict between NPV and IRR, the project with the highest IRR is chosen. The IRR is independent of a firm's weighted average cost of capital. |
The WACC only represents the "hurdle rate" for a typical project with average risk. Therefore, the project's WACC should be adjusted to reflect the project's risk. Firms with riskier projects generally have a lower WACC. Holding all else constant, an increase in the target debt ratio tends to lower the WACC. |
Short-term bond prices are less sensitive than long-term bond prices to interest rate changes. Companies are not likely to call bonds unless interest rates have declined significantly. Thus, the call provision is valuable to firms but detrimental to long term investors. On balance, bonds that have a sinking fund are regarded as being safer than those without such a provision. |
If beta < 1.0, the security is less risky than average. According to the Security Market Line (SML), in general, a companyâs expected return will double when its beta doubles. According to the Security Market Line (SML), if a portfolio of real world stocks has a beta of zero, the required rate of return for the portfolio is equal to the risk-free rate. |
7.37%. 11.05%. 8.32%. |
It ignores cash flows occurring after the payback period. It ignores the time value of money, that is, dollars received in different years are all given the same weight. |
1.82. 2.00. 1.94 |
undervalued. overvalued. |
13.92%. 16.34%. 12.17%. |
$221.86. $195.23. $257.35. |
10.82%. 11.76%. 9.64%. |
10 years. 4.58 years. 6.12 years. |
12.04%. 14.93%. 9.15%. |
1.24 years. 1.62 years. 1.15 years.
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