Question

You must evaluate the purchase of a proposed spectrometer for the R&D department. The base price is $250,000, and it would cost another $50,000 to modify the equipment for special use by the firm. The equipment falls into the MACRS 3-year class and would be sold after 3 years for $125,000. The applicable depreciation rates are 33%, 45%, 15%, and 7%. The equipment would require a $13,000 increase in net operating working capital (spare parts inventory). The project would have no effect on revenues, but it should save the firm $32,000 per year in before-tax labor costs. The firm's marginal federal-plus-state tax rate is 40%.
What is the initial investment outlay for the spectrometer, that is, what is the Year 0 project cash flow?

Answer 1

Answer:

$332,000

Explanation:

Initial investment refers to the cash outflow needed to begin a project or start a business. It includes capital expenditure, modification cost, and working capital needed.

Based on this, the initial investment outlay can be calculated as follows:

Initial investment outlay = Base price + Additional modification cost + Net operating working capital = $250,000 + $50,000 + $32,000 = $332,000