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Howard Co. is considering two alternative investments. The payback period is 3.5 years for Investment A and 4 years for Investment B.

1. If management relies on the payback period, which investment is preferred?

2. Why might Howard’s analysis of these two alternatives lead to the selection of B over A?

Short Answer

Expert verified

According to the payback period investment A is better but other factors may conclude that investment B might be better than the project A.

Step by step solution

01

Step-by-Step SolutionStep 1: Payback period

The payback period is a type of capital budgeting technique that shows the number of years or length of the project which is required to cover all cash outflow.

The payback period is computed by dividing the total investment by the amount invested in the project.

If everything remains constant then according to the payback period, the investment A is a better option than investment B as it has a shorter payback period.

02

Howard’s Analysis

In this case, if the amount of investment is different, the possible reasons which may lead to choosing different alternatives are:

1. Risk factor of investment B may be less than the project A

2. The possibility of growth of project B must be better than the project A

3. The present value of investment B must be higher than the net present value of project A

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Most popular questions from this chapter

The management of Samsung is planning to invest in a new companywide computerized inventory tracking system. What makes this potential investment risky?

Manning Corporation is considering a new project requiring a \(90,000 investment in test equipment with no salvage value. The project would produce \)66,000 of pretax income before depreciation at the end of each of the next six years. The company’s income tax rate is 40%. In compiling its tax return and computing its income tax payments, the company can choose between the two alternative depreciation schedules shown in the table.

Straight-Line MACRS

Depreciation Depreciation*

Year 1 . . . . . . . . . . \( 9,000 \)18,000

Year 2 . . . . . . . . . . 18,000 28,800

Year 3 . . . . . . . . . . 18,000 17,280

Year 4 . . . . . . . . . . 18,000 10,368

Year 5 . . . . . . . . . . 18,000 10,368

Year 6 . . . . . . . . . . 9,000 5,184

Totals . . . . . . . . . . . \(90,000 \)90,000

Required

1. Prepare a five-column table that reports amounts (assuming use of straight-line depreciation) for each of the following for each of the six years: (a) pretax income before depreciation, (b) straight-line depreciation expense, (c) taxable income, (d) income taxes, and (e) net cash flow. Net cash flow equals the amount of income before depreciation minus the income taxes. (Round answers to the nearest dollar.)

2. Prepare a five-column table that reports amounts (assuming use of MACRS depreciation) for each of the following for each of the six years: (a) pretax income before depreciation, (b) MACRS depreciation expense, (c) taxable income, (d) income taxes, and (e) net cash flow. Net cash flow equals the income amount before depreciation minus the income taxes. (Round answers to the nearest dollar.)

3. Compute the net present value of the investment if straight-line depreciation is used. Use 10% as the discount rate. (Round the net present value to the nearest dollar.)

4. Compute the net present value of the investment if MACRS depreciation is used. Use 10% as the discount rate. (Round the net present value to the nearest dollar.)

Analysis Component

5. Explain why the MACRS depreciation method increases this project’s net present value.

Refer to the information in Exercise 24-11 and instead assume the company requires a 12% return on its investments. Compute each project’s

(a) net present value and

(b) profitability index. (Round present value calculations to the nearest dollar.) Express the profitability index as a percentage (rounded to two decimal places). If the company can choose only one project, which should it choose? Explain.

Grossman Corporation is considering a new project requiring a \(30,000 investment in an asset having no salvage value. The project would produce \)12,000 of pretax income before depreciation at the end of each of the next six years. The company’s income tax rate is 40%. In compiling its tax return and computing its income tax payments, the company can choose between two alternative depreciation schedules as shown in the table.

Straight-Line MACRS

Depreciation Depreciation*

Year 1 . . . . . . . . . . \( 3,000 \)6,000

Year 2 . . . . . . . . . . 6,000 9,600

Year 3 . . . . . . . . . . 6,000 5,760

Year 4 . . . . . . . . . . 6,000 3,456

Year 5 . . . . . . . . . . 6,000 3,456

Year 6 . . . . . . . . . . 2,000 1,728

Totals . . . . . . . . . . . \(30,000 \)30,000

Required

1. Prepare a five-column table that reports amounts (assuming use of straight-line depreciation) for each of the following items for each of the six years: (a) pretax income before depreciation, (b) straight-line depreciation expense, (c) taxable income, (d) income taxes, and (e) net cash flow. Net cash flow equals the amount of income before depreciation minus the income taxes. (Round answers to the nearest dollar.)

2. Prepare a five-column table that reports amounts (assuming use of MACRS depreciation) for each of the following items for each of the six years: (a) pretax income before depreciation, (b) MACRS depreciation expense, (c) taxable income, (d) income taxes, and (e) net cash flow. Net cash flow equals the amount of income before depreciation minus the income taxes. (Round answers to the nearest dollar.)

3. Compute the net present value of the investment if straight-line depreciation is used. Use 10% as the discount rate. (Round the net present value to the nearest dollar.)

4. Compute the net present value of the investment if MACRS depreciation is used. Use 10% as the discount rate. (Round the net present value to the nearest dollar.)

Analysis Component

5. Explain why the MACRS depreciation method increases the net present value of this project.

A company is investing in a solar panel system to reduce its electricity costs. The system requires a cash payment of \(125,374.60 today. The system is expected to generate net cash flows of \)13,000 per year for the next 35 years. The investment has zero salvage value. The company requires an 8% return on its investments. Compute the net present value of this investment.

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