FM – L2 – Q78 – Discounted cash flow

Woodland Enterprises plans to invest GH₵7 million in a new product. Net contribution over the next five years is expected to be GH₵4.2 million per annum in real terms. Marketing expenditure of GH₵1.4m per annum will also be needed. Expenditure of GH₵1.3m per annum will be required to replace existing assets which will now be used on the project but are getting to the end of their useful lives. This expenditure will be incurred at the beginning of each year. Additional investment in working capital equivalent to 10% of contribution will need to be in place at the start of each year. Working capital will be released at the end of the project. The following forecasts are made of the rates of inflation each year for the next five years:

Contribution Marketing Assets General prices
8% 3% 4% 4.70%

The real cost of capital of the company is 6%. All cash flows are in real terms. Ignore tax.

Required:
Calculate the net present value of the project and appraise whether it is a worthwhile project.

0 1 2 3 4 5
Year GH₵000 GH₵000 GH₵000 GH₵000 GH₵000 GH₵000
Contribution (inflation@8%) 4,536 4,899 5,291 5,714 6,171
Marketing (inflation@3%)
Operating cash flows
New investment (7,000)
Asset replacement (inflation@4%) (1,300) (1,352) (1,406) (1,462) (1,520)
Working capital injection (W1) (454) (36) (39) (42) (46) 617
Free cash flows (8,754) 1,706 1,969 2,257 2,572 5,165
Discount factor @11% (W2) 1 0.901 0.812 0.731 0.659 0.593
Discounted cash flows (8,754) 1,537 1,599 1,650 1,695 3,063
NPV 790,000

The net present value = -8,754 + 1,537 + 1,599 + 1,650 + 1,695 + 3,063 = 790,000
The positive NPV shows the project is worthwhile.

WORKINGS
W1 Working capital injection

Year 0 1 2 3 4 5
GH₵000 GH₵000 GH₵000 GH₵000 GH₵000 GH₵000
Increased revenue 4,536 4,899 5,291 5,714 6,171
Working capital required (10%)
Working capital injection (454) (36) (39) (42) (46) 617

W2 Cost of capital
(1+i) = (1+r)(1+h) = (1+0.06)(1+0.047) = 1.11, hence 11%