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Cool Moose Creamery Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Cool Moose Creamery case study


At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Cool Moose Creamery case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Ian Dunn. The Cool Moose Creamery (referred as “Cream Ice” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Finance & Accounting. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Growth strategy, Operations management.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment






Case Description of Cool Moose Creamery Case Study


The owner/operator of an ice cream store has an opportunity to expand his product line to include soft-serve ice cream. He needs to analyze the costs and benefits of purchasing either a new or used single-head or triple-head soft-serve ice cream machine. He also wants to continue growing the business and he wonders about the best way of going about it. Students are asked to (1) perform a business size-up; (2) analyze the addition of soft-serve ice cream from a qualitative standpoint; (3) determine which of the cash flows associated with the opportunity are relevant and which are recurring costs versus one-time costs; (4) perform a differential analysis to determine the ROI and payback period for the purchase of both new machines; (5) determine the ROI and payback period changes if a used machine is purchased; and (6) decide whether to purchase a soft-serve ice cream machine and, if so, which one.


Case Authors : Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Ian Dunn

Topic : Finance & Accounting

Related Areas : Growth strategy, Operations management




Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Cool Moose Creamery Case Study


Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 6 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10007184) -10007184 - -
Year 1 3449727 -6557457 3449727 0.9434 3254459
Year 2 3964439 -2593018 7414166 0.89 3528337
Year 3 3972421 1379403 11386587 0.8396 3335321
Year 4 3232017 4611420 14618604 0.7921 2560060
TOTAL 14618604 12678177




The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2670993

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting


What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.




Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting


There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Internal Rate of Return
2. Profitability Index
3. Payback Period
4. Net Present Value

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Cream Ice have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.
2. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Cream Ice shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.






Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Cool Moose Creamery

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Finance & Accounting Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Cream Ice often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Cream Ice needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.



Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 15 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10007184) -10007184 - -
Year 1 3449727 -6557457 3449727 0.8696 2999763
Year 2 3964439 -2593018 7414166 0.7561 2997685
Year 3 3972421 1379403 11386587 0.6575 2611931
Year 4 3232017 4611420 14618604 0.5718 1847916
TOTAL 10457296


The Net NPV after 4 years is 450112

(10457296 - 10007184 )








Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%


If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 20 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10007184) -10007184 - -
Year 1 3449727 -6557457 3449727 0.8333 2874773
Year 2 3964439 -2593018 7414166 0.6944 2753083
Year 3 3972421 1379403 11386587 0.5787 2298855
Year 4 3232017 4611420 14618604 0.4823 1558650
TOTAL 9485360


The Net NPV after 4 years is -521824

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9485360 - 10007184 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Cream Ice to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.





Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Cream Ice has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Cream Ice can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Cream Ice, then the stock price of the Cream Ice should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Cream Ice should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.






Negotiation Strategy of Cool Moose Creamery

References & Further Readings

Elizabeth M.A. Grasby, Ian Dunn (2018), "Cool Moose Creamery Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.


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