Another utilization of cash flow analysis is setting the bid price on a project. To calculate the bid price, we set the project NPV equal to zero and find the required price. Thus the bid price represents a financial break-even level for the project. Guthrie Enterprises needs someone to supply it with 144,000 cartons of machine screws per year to support its manufacturing needs over the next five years, and you’ve decided to bid on the contract. It will cost you $1,840,000 to install the equipment necessary to start production; you’ll depreciate this cost straight-line to zero over the project’s life. You estimate that in five years this equipment can be salvaged for $154,000. Your fixed production costs will be $269,000 per year, and your variable production costs should be $8.90 per carton. You also need an initial investment in net working capital of $134,000. The tax rate is 39 percent and you require a 12 percent return on your investment. Assume that the price per carton is $16.40.
What is the highest fixed costs that could be incurred and still break even? (Do not round intermediate calculations and round your final answer to 2 decimal places. (e.g., 32.16))
We have been provided with the information that,
Guthrie Enterprises needs someone to supply it with 144,000 cartons of machine screws per year to support its manufacturing
It needs over next five years
Contract cost is $1,840,000
salvaged for $154,000.
fixed production costs will be $269,000 per year, a
variable production costs should be $8.90 per carton.
Net working capital of $134,000
Now we put all this information in to the excel and calculate OCF as follow
Cartons | 144000 |
Investment | 1,840,000 |
Life | 5 |
Dep | 368000 |
Salvage | 154000 |
Tax | 0.34 |
After-tax Salv | 101640 |
Fixed | 269000 |
Var Cost | 8.9 |
NWC | 134000 |
r | 0.12 |
Now find OCF
Cartons | 144000 |
Investment | 1,840,000 |
Life | 5 |
Dep | 368000 |
Salvage | 154000 |
Tax | 0.39 |
After-tax Salv | 93940 |
Fixed | 269000 |
Var Cost | 8.9 |
NWC | 134000 |
r | 0.12 |
Now we find NPV as under
OCF = | 638230 |
PV(Inv) | -1840000 |
PV(NWC) (134,000,Pvif 5,12%) | -57964.80 |
PV(Salv)(93940,Pvif 5,12%) | 53304.0788 |
PV(OCF)(562011.32,PVIFA,5,12%) | 2300676.32 |
NPV = | 456015.593 |
If fixed cost is as per given in the sum then the NPV is positive as $ 456015.59
but if we make changes in the fixed cost then it will give effect in NPV
make change in the figure of fixed assets and do all calculation in Excel then too will get
Cartons | 144000 | |||
Investment | 1,840,000 | Price/Carton | 16.4 | |
Life | 5 | |||
Dep | 368000 | OCF = | 511726.98 | |
Salvage | 154000 | PV(Inv) | -1840000 | |
Tax | 0.39 | PV(NWC) | -57964.8013 | |
After-tax Salv | 93940 | PV(Salv) | 53304.0788 | |
PV(OCF) | 1844661.24 | |||
Fixed | 476,382 | |||
Var Cost | 8.9 | NPV = | 0.0 | |
NWC | 134000 | |||
r | 0.12 |
Here if fixed cost is $ 4756,382 then NPV = 0 or we can say that it is Break Even Point
Note that if I change the fixed cost cell above this value
the NPV>0, and if I change it more than 4756,382, then the NPV<0.