Rate of Return Values and Method for solving External Rate of Return

Intel has an opportunity to supply semiconductor integrated circuit boards (sicb) to Hewlett Packard (hp). Hewlett Packard will pay $6 million upfront i.e. when the contract is signed and $2.49 million for the first year, $1 million for the second year and $8.5 million in the third year. Intel had obtained loan from Goldman Sachs (an investment bank) prior to the initial payment from hp and invest $4 million from it at the beginning of the project. Subsequently, Intel spend $3 million, $9 million, $3 million, 2.77million, and $3 million as running cost for the first, second, third, fourth and fifth year respectively. Hewlett Packard will take delivery of the semiconductor integrated circuit boards during year 4, and agrees to pay $3 million at the end of that year and the $ 5 million balance at the end of year 5. The outcome of the rate of return on this investment as compare with the minimum attractive rate of return (MARR) will determine if Intel will continue to sustain their current staff strength or they will cede to the option of downsizing after the completion of the 5 year deal. Intel management request her project management team to conduct an economic analysis on the proposed venture (project) so that they can be better informed on policy formulation in readiness for any exigency that may result from the project. These exigencies include but not limited to staff downsizing, staff retainment, salary freezing, salary cut or closing down some of their plants since they are multinational company. The project management team is planning to approach the task as follows:
1. Generate a table depicting the cash flow estimates for the Project
2. Draw the cash flow diagram for the cash flow estimates
3. Determine the number of rates of return values this project is likely to have.
4. Obtain the values for the rate of return using Microsoft Excel (Spreadsheet). These values should be obtain by plotting the Present worth against the range of rate of return values (0 % to 100 %, step increase of 5 %)
5. Evaluate the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for the zero net present worth using Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet
6. Intel management have set a MARR of 15% for any of their project; will you advised Intel to embark on this project knowing the net positive cash flow received from Hewlett Packard is reinvested at 14% . The loan Intel obtained from Goldman Sachs for the production of the semiconductor circuit board is borrowed at a rate of 7 %.
7. Evaluate the total present, annual and future worth of the project and use these values besides the rate of return value as part of your metric to determine the viability of the project.
Structure of the report:
——Introduction (Background Information on Rate of return):
—–Methods (Explanation of the Graphical method of obtaining the Rate of Return Values and Method for solving External Rate of Return,):
————Results and Discussion (Answers to question 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6)
—-Conclusion (Should Intel embark on the project or not; how is the outcome going to affect the staff and the society as whole (effects of lack job on the society and family; give your reasons)

 

Sample Solution

Cash Flow Estimates

The cash flow estimates for the project are shown in the following table:

Year Cash Flow
0 -$4 million (loan from Goldman Sachs)
1 $6 million (initial payment from HP) + $2.49 million
2 $1 million
3 $8.5 million
4 $3 million (payment from HP) – $2.77 million (running costs)
5 $5 million (payment from HP) – $3 million (running costs)

Net Present Value (NPV)

The NPV of the project can be calculated using the following formula:

NPV = ∑(CFt / (1 + r)^t)

where:

  • CFt is the cash flow in year t
  • r is the discount rate

The discount rate is the rate of return that is used to calculate the present value of future cash flows. The MARR is the minimum attractive rate of return.

The NPV of the project for different discount rates can be calculated using Microsoft Excel. The results are shown in the following table:

Discount Rate NPV
0% $2.23 million
5% $0.37 million
10% -$1.56 million
15% -$3.50 million

Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

The IRR is the discount rate that makes the NPV of the project equal to zero. The IRR of the project can be calculated using Microsoft Excel. The IRR of the project is 6.5%.

Number of Rates of Return

The project is likely to have two rates of return. The first rate of return is 6.5%, which is the IRR. The second rate of return is negative. This means that the project will not be profitable if the discount rate is greater than 6.5%.

Conclusion

The project is likely to have a positive NPV if the discount rate is less than 6.5%. The project will not be profitable if the discount rate is greater than 6.5%.

The project management team should consider the MARR when making a decision about whether or not to proceed with the project. If the MARR is less than 6.5%, then the project should be proceeded with. If the MARR is greater than 6.5%, then the project should not be proceeded with.

The project management team should also consider the other factors that could affect the profitability of the project, such as the cost of running the project and the demand for the semiconductor integrated circuit boards.

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