Biosensors International Group: Valuation and Impairment Testing of Intangibles 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 Biosensors International Group: Valuation and Impairment Testing of Intangibles case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Biosensors International Group: Valuation and Impairment Testing of Intangibles case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Patricia Tan, Ming Jian. The Biosensors International Group: Valuation and Impairment Testing of Intangibles (referred as “Goodwill Biosensors” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Finance & Accounting. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Financial analysis.

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

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Case Description of Biosensors International Group: Valuation and Impairment Testing of Intangibles Case Study

Biosensors International Group (BIG), a biotechnology company listed in Singapore Exchange, acquired JW Medical Systems Ltd in 2011. This resulted in a significant increase in reported goodwill and other intangible assets. On 2 July 2012, Matthew Tay, an analyst with MMB Ltd (an equity research company in Singapore), sat staring at the balance sheets of BIG. The sum total of intangible assets and goodwill constituted 62% of total assets compared to 4% the year before. He knew that the huge increase was due to the acquisition of JW Medical Systems in 2011. He wondered what these intangible assets and goodwill represented, how they were accounted for and how they should be interpreted. This case study deals with the valuation and the impairment testing of intangibles (including goodwill) reported in the financial statements of BIG, and describes the acquisition transaction and BIG's post-acquisition financial position.

Case Authors : Patricia Tan, Ming Jian

Topic : Finance & Accounting

Related Areas : Financial analysis

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Biosensors International Group: Valuation and Impairment Testing of Intangibles Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10002949)	-10002949	-	-
Year 1	3457009	-6545940	3457009	0.9434	3261329
Year 2	3975977	-2569963	7432986	0.89	3538605
Year 3	3942691	1372728	11375677	0.8396	3310359
Year 4	3229473	4602201	14605150	0.7921	2558045
TOTAL			14605150		12668339

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2665390

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.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

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

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

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 Goodwill Biosensors 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. Goodwill Biosensors shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Biosensors International Group: Valuation and Impairment Testing of Intangibles

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 Goodwill Biosensors 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 Goodwill Biosensors 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	(10002949)	-10002949	-	-
Year 1	3457009	-6545940	3457009	0.8696	3006095
Year 2	3975977	-2569963	7432986	0.7561	3006410
Year 3	3942691	1372728	11375677	0.6575	2592383
Year 4	3229473	4602201	14605150	0.5718	1846462
TOTAL					10451350

The Net NPV after 4 years is 448401

(10451350 - 10002949 )

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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	(10002949)	-10002949	-	-
Year 1	3457009	-6545940	3457009	0.8333	2880841
Year 2	3975977	-2569963	7432986	0.6944	2761095
Year 3	3942691	1372728	11375677	0.5787	2281650
Year 4	3229473	4602201	14605150	0.4823	1557423
TOTAL					9481009

The Net NPV after 4 years is -521940

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9481009 - 10002949 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Goodwill Biosensors 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 Goodwill Biosensors has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Goodwill Biosensors 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 Goodwill Biosensors, then the stock price of the Goodwill Biosensors 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 Goodwill Biosensors 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 will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

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

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.

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Negotiation Strategy of Biosensors International Group: Valuation and Impairment Testing of Intangibles

References & Further Readings

Patricia Tan, Ming Jian (2018), "Biosensors International Group: Valuation and Impairment Testing of Intangibles Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.