Question

Your firm is considering opening a branch office in Kyle. The office would cost $485,000 to build the office. During the office is expected to generate cash flows of $45,000 during the first year of operation, $120,000 the second year, then reach a steady cash flow of $150,000 per year for the next three years. If your required return is 16%, should you open the branch office?

Answer 1

Answer:

The NPV from opening the branch office is negative ( -$106668.08). Thus the branch office should not be opened.

Explanation:

The decision to open the branch office will be taken based on the NPV provided by opening of the branch office. If the NPV of a project is positive based on the required rate of return used as a discount rate fro cash flows, the investment is worth undertaking.

The net present value (NPV) for a project can be calculated as,

NPV = CF1 / (1+r)  + CF2 / (1+r)²  + ...  + CFn / (1+r)^n  -  Initial Outlay

Where,

• r is the appropriate discount rate
• Initial Outlay is the Initial cost of the project
• CF represents cash flows from the project

As the required return is 16%, we will take this as the appropriate discount rate.

NPV = 45000 / (1+0.16)  +  120000 / (1+0.16)²  +  150000 / (1+0.16)³  +

150000 / (1+0.16)^4  +  150000 / (1+0.16)^5  -  485000

NPV = - $106668.08

As the NPV from project is negative at a required return of 16%, the project should not be under taken and the branch office should not be open.