Leading the Tata Group (A): The Ratan Tata Years 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 Leading the Tata Group (A): The Ratan Tata Years case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Leading the Tata Group (A): The Ratan Tata Years case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by K S Manikandan, K Rajyalakshmi, J Ramachandran. The Leading the Tata Group (A): The Ratan Tata Years (referred as “Tata Ratan” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Strategy & Execution. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Emerging markets, Leadership.

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 Leading the Tata Group (A): The Ratan Tata Years Case Study

This two-part case traces the evolution of the Tata Group, one of India's largest and well-known business groups, from inception until date. The first case principally focuses on Ratan Tata's leadership of the Tata Group, from 1991 to 2012. Tata Group History, the first section of the case, traces the early years of the Tata Group, its management philosophy, the leadership years of its legendary chairman, JRD Tata and ends with the elevation of Ratan Tata as chairman of the group in 1991. Leading Change details the group's transformation under Ratan Tata's leadership. Passing the Baton describes the succession process that led to the appointment of Cyrus Mistry as chairman of the group in late 2012. The second case describes Cyrus Mistry's leadership of the group until it ended abruptly with his sudden removal as chairman of Tata Sons on October 24, 2016, and the reinstatement of Ratan Tata as interim chairman.

Case Authors : K S Manikandan, K Rajyalakshmi, J Ramachandran

Topic : Strategy & Execution

Related Areas : Emerging markets, Leadership

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Leading the Tata Group (A): The Ratan Tata Years Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10012438)	-10012438	-	-
Year 1	3464352	-6548086	3464352	0.9434	3268257
Year 2	3957729	-2590357	7422081	0.89	3522365
Year 3	3962700	1372343	11384781	0.8396	3327159
Year 4	3230897	4603240	14615678	0.7921	2559173
TOTAL			14615678		12676954

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2664516

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

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 Tata Ratan 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. Tata Ratan 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 Leading the Tata Group (A): The Ratan Tata Years

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 Strategy & Execution 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 Tata Ratan 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 Tata Ratan 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	(10012438)	-10012438	-	-
Year 1	3464352	-6548086	3464352	0.8696	3012480
Year 2	3957729	-2590357	7422081	0.7561	2992612
Year 3	3962700	1372343	11384781	0.6575	2605540
Year 4	3230897	4603240	14615678	0.5718	1847276
TOTAL					10457907

The Net NPV after 4 years is 445469

(10457907 - 10012438 )

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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	(10012438)	-10012438	-	-
Year 1	3464352	-6548086	3464352	0.8333	2886960
Year 2	3957729	-2590357	7422081	0.6944	2748423
Year 3	3962700	1372343	11384781	0.5787	2293229
Year 4	3230897	4603240	14615678	0.4823	1558110
TOTAL					9486722

The Net NPV after 4 years is -525716

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9486722 - 10012438 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Tata Ratan 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 Tata Ratan has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Tata Ratan 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 Tata Ratan, then the stock price of the Tata Ratan 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 Tata Ratan 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 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.

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

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 Leading the Tata Group (A): The Ratan Tata Years

References & Further Readings

K S Manikandan, K Rajyalakshmi, J Ramachandran (2018), "Leading the Tata Group (A): The Ratan Tata Years Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.