Dialogue in the Dark, Hong Kong: A Role Model for Social Enterprises in the Making 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 Dialogue in the Dark, Hong Kong: A Role Model for Social Enterprises in the Making case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Dialogue in the Dark, Hong Kong: A Role Model for Social Enterprises in the Making case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Anna Tsui, Elsa Chan, Kevin Au. The Dialogue in the Dark, Hong Kong: A Role Model for Social Enterprises in the Making (referred as “Hk Visually” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Strategy & Execution. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Human resource management, Innovation, International business, Leadership, Marketing, Organizational culture, Strategy.

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 Dialogue in the Dark, Hong Kong: A Role Model for Social Enterprises in the Making Case Study

Dialogue in the Dark Hong Kong Limited (DiD HK) is a social enterprise founded in August 2008 with a vision of providing "insight for everyone". In line with the worldwide DiD, the core values of DiD HK are diversity, quality and sustainability. As a social enterprise, DiD HK aims to achieve both social and financial objectives. Although it has to raise the awareness of the public toward blind or visually impaired (VI) people and promote employment opportunities for them, DiD HK aims to achieve financial success, financial sustainability and dividend payout to investors. In the first two years of operation, DiD HK's innovations have attracted many participants, and more jobs are created for visually impaired employees. It made inroads toward a breakeven in 2010 through its unique ownership and business models. The startup team invented many new programs unheard of in other franchises. Although DiD has franchises all over the world, none of them are sustainable and successful. Geared toward expanding to other parts of Asia, DiD HK was not without its problems. Its product range and market had room for improvement. There was a lack of repeat visitation. DiD HK also needed further financial capital, human resources and other resources. Thus, it is imperative for management to review its strategies, and find ways to sustain its expansion and financial performance. If DiD HK can overcome these challenges, it may serve as a role model social enterprise not just in Hong Kong, but also in other parts of the world.

Case Authors : Anna Tsui, Elsa Chan, Kevin Au

Topic : Strategy & Execution

Related Areas : Human resource management, Innovation, International business, Leadership, Marketing, Organizational culture, Strategy

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Dialogue in the Dark, Hong Kong: A Role Model for Social Enterprises in the Making Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10002250)	-10002250	-	-
Year 1	3468700	-6533550	3468700	0.9434	3272358
Year 2	3959716	-2573834	7428416	0.89	3524133
Year 3	3967411	1393577	11395827	0.8396	3331115
Year 4	3241338	4634915	14637165	0.7921	2567443
TOTAL			14637165		12695050

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2692800

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. Payback Period
2. Net Present Value
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 Hk Visually 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. Hk Visually 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 Dialogue in the Dark, Hong Kong: A Role Model for Social Enterprises in the Making

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 Hk Visually 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 Hk Visually 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	(10002250)	-10002250	-	-
Year 1	3468700	-6533550	3468700	0.8696	3016261
Year 2	3959716	-2573834	7428416	0.7561	2994114
Year 3	3967411	1393577	11395827	0.6575	2608637
Year 4	3241338	4634915	14637165	0.5718	1853246
TOTAL					10472258

The Net NPV after 4 years is 470008

(10472258 - 10002250 )

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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	(10002250)	-10002250	-	-
Year 1	3468700	-6533550	3468700	0.8333	2890583
Year 2	3959716	-2573834	7428416	0.6944	2749803
Year 3	3967411	1393577	11395827	0.5787	2295955
Year 4	3241338	4634915	14637165	0.4823	1563145
TOTAL					9499487

The Net NPV after 4 years is -502763

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9499487 - 10002250 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Hk Visually 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 Hk Visually has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Hk Visually 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 Hk Visually, then the stock price of the Hk Visually 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 Hk Visually 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 –

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

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.

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

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

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 Dialogue in the Dark, Hong Kong: A Role Model for Social Enterprises in the Making

References & Further Readings

Anna Tsui, Elsa Chan, Kevin Au (2018), "Dialogue in the Dark, Hong Kong: A Role Model for Social Enterprises in the Making Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.