Lopez Company is considering replacing one of its old manufacturing machines. The old machine has a book value of $49,000 and a remaining useful life of four years. It can be sold now for $59,000. Variable manufacturing costs are $43,000 per year for this old machine. Information on two alternative replacement machines follows. The expected useful life of each replacement machine is four years.   Machine A Machine B Purchase price $ 121,000 $ 135,000 Variable manufacturing costs per year 19,000 15,000 (a) Compute the income increase or decrease from replacing the old machine with Machine A. (b) Compute the income increase or decrease from replacing the old machine with Machine B. (c) Should Lopez keep or replace its old machine? (d) If the machine should be replaced, which new machine should Lopez purchase?

New-Project Analysis The Campbell Company is considering adding a robotic paint sprayer to its production line. The sprayer’s base price is $1,080,000, and it would cost another $22,500 to install it. The machine falls into the MACRS 3-year class, and it would be sold after 3 years for $605,000. The MACRS rates for the first 3 years are 0.3333, 0.4445, and 0.1481. The machine would require an increase in net working capital (inventory) of $15,500. The sprayer would not change revenues, but it is expected to save the firm $380,000 per year in before-tax operating costs, mainly labor. Campbell’s marginal tax rate is 35%. What is the Year-0 cash flow? What are the net operating cash flows in Years 1, 2, and 3? What is the additional Year-3 cash flow (i.e., the after-tax salvage and the return of working capital)? If the project’s cost of capital is 12%, should the machine be purchased?

Gina Ripley, president of Dearing Company, is considering the purchase of a computer-aided manufacturing system. The annual net cash benefits and savings associated with the system are described as follows: The system will cost 9,000,000 and last 10 years. The companys cost of capital is 12 percent. Required: 1. Calculate the payback period for the system. Assume that the company has a policy of only accepting projects with a payback of five years or less. Would the system be acquired? 2. Calculate the NPV and IRR for the project. Should the system be purchasedeven if it does not meet the payback criterion? 3. The project manager reviewed the projected cash flows and pointed out that two items had been missed. First, the system would have a salvage value, net of any tax effects, of 1,000,000 at the end of 10 years. Second, the increased quality and delivery performance would allow the company to increase its market share by 20 percent. This would produce an additional annual net benefit of 300,000. Recalculate the payback period, NPV, and IRR given this new information. (For the IRR computation, initially ignore salvage value.) Does the decision change? Suppose that the salvage value is only half what is projected. Does this make a difference in the outcome? Does salvage value have any real bearing on the companys decision?

Friedman Company is considering installing a new IT system. The cost of the new system is estimated to be 2,250,000, but it would produce after-tax savings of 450,000 per year in labor costs. The estimated life of the new system is 10 years, with no salvage value expected. Intrigued by the possibility of saving 450,000 per year and having a more reliable information system, the president of Friedman has asked for an analysis of the projects economic viability. All capital projects are required to earn at least the firms cost of capital, which is 12 percent. Required: 1. Calculate the projects internal rate of return. Should the company acquire the new IT system? 2. Suppose that savings are less than claimed. Calculate the minimum annual cash savings that must be realized for the project to earn a rate equal to the firms cost of capital. Comment on the safety margin that exists, if any. 3. Suppose that the life of the IT system is overestimated by two years. Repeat Requirements 1 and 2 under this assumption. Comment on the usefulness of this information.

REPLACEMENT ANALYSIS St. Johns River Shipyards is considering the replacement of an 8-year-old riveting machine with a new one that will increase earnings from 24,000 to 46,000 per year. The new machine will cost 80,000, and it will have an estimated life of 8 years and no salvage value. The new riveting machine is eligible for 100% bonus depreciation at the time of purchase. The applicable corporate tax rate is 25%, and the firms WACC is 10%. The old machine has been fully depreciated and has no salvage value. Should the old riveting machine be replaced by the new one? Explain your answer.

Consolidated Aluminum is considering the purchase of a new machine that will cost $308,000 and provide the following cash flows over the next five years: $88,000, 92,000, $91,000, $72,000, and $71,000. Calculate the IRR for this piece of equipment. For further instructions on internal rate of return in Excel, see Appendix C.

Thaler Company bought 26,000 of raw materials a year ago in anticipation of producing 5,000 units of a deluxe version of its product to be priced at 75 each. Now the price of the deluxe version has dropped to 35 each, and Thaler is now deciding whether to produce 1,500 units of the deluxe version at a cost of 48,000 or to scrap the project. What is the opportunity cost of this decision? a. 175,000 b. 375,000 c. 48,000 d. 26,000

Austins cell phone manufacturer wants to upgrade their product mix to encompass an exciting new feature on their cell phone. This would require a new high-tech machine. You are excited about his new project and are recommending the purchase to your board of directors. Here is the information you have compiled in order to complete this recommendation: According to the information, the project will last 10 years and require an initial investment of $800,000, depreciated with straight-line over the life of the project until the final value is zero. The firms tax rate is 30% and the required rate of return is 12%. You believe that the variable cost and sales volume may be as much as 10% higher or lower than the initial estimate. Your boss understands the risks but asks you to explain the alternatives in a brief memo to the board, Write a memo to the Board of Directors objectively weighing out the pros and cons of this project and make your recommendation(s).

Shonda & Shonda is a company that does land surveys and engineering consulting. They have an opportunity to purchase new computer equipment that will allow them to render their drawings and surveys much more quickly. The new equipment will cost them an additional $1.200 per month, but they will be able to increase their sales by 10% per year. Their current annual cost and break-even figures are as follows: A. What will be the impact on the break-even point if Shonda & Shonda purchases the new computer? B. What will be the impact on net operating income if Shonda & Shonda purchases the new computer? C. What would be your recommendation to Shonda & Shonda regarding this purchase?

Shao Airlines is considering the purchase of two alternative planes. Plane A has an expected life of 5 years, will cost $100 million, and will produce net cash flows of $30 million per year. Plane B has a life of 10 years, will cost $132 million, and will produce net cash flows of $25 million per year. Shao plans to serve the route for only 10 years. Inflation in operating costs, airplane costs, and fares are expected to be zero, and the company’s cost of capital is 12%. By how much would the value of the company increase if it accepted the better project (plane)? What is the equivalent annual annuity for each plane?