The Allied Group is considering two investments
The Allied Group is considering two investments. The first investment involves a packaging machine, which can be used to package garments for shipping orders to customers. The second possible investment would be a molding machine that would be used to mold the mannequin parts.
The first possible investment is the packaging machine, which will cost $14,000. The second investment, the molding machine, would cost $12,000. The expected cash flows for the two projects are given below and the cost of capital to the firm is 15%. Both machines will be unusable after five years and have no salvage value.
The net cash flows for the two possible projects are given in the following table:
Year Packaging Machine Molding Machine
0 ($14000) ($12,000)
1 4100 3200
2 3300 2800
3 2900 2800
4 2200 2200
5 1200 2200
Address all of the following questions in a brief but thorough manner.
What is each project’s payback period? Provide a detailed explanation of how you calculated the payback period for each.
What is the NPV for each project? Provide a detailed explanation of how you calculated the payback period for each.
What is the IRR for each project? Provide a detailed explanation of how you calculated the internal rate of return (IRR) for each
Sample Answer
Allied Group Investment Analysis
Payback Period:
-
Packaging Machine:
- Total cash inflow needed to recover initial cost ($14,000) = Initial Investment
- Cash inflows in year 1 ($4,100) are less than the initial investment.
- We need to find the year where the cumulative cash inflows recover the initial investment.
- In year 2, cash inflow is $3,300. Add this to year 1’s inflow: $4,100 + $3,300 = $7,400. This is still not enough.
- To recover the remaining $6,600 ($14,000 – $7,400), we look at year 3’s cash inflow ($2,900). We only need a portion of year 3’s inflow to reach $14,000.
- Payback Period (Packaging Machine) = 2 years + ($6,600 / $2,900) = 2.24 years.