American Repertory Theatre in the 1990s (A) 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 American Repertory Theatre in the 1990s (A) case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. American Repertory Theatre in the 1990s (A) case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by James A. Phills, Ed Martenson, Gregory Scott. The American Repertory Theatre in the 1990s (A) (referred as “Brustein Orchard” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Strategy & Execution. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Ethics, Strategic planning.

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 American Repertory Theatre in the 1990s (A) Case Study

In early January 1993, American Repertory Theatre's (ART) Artistic Director Robert Brustein and Managing Director Robert Orchard were concerned about ART's financial situation. Major government funders had communicated plans to cut sharply, and possibly eliminate, their annual support. These threats raised the specter of a reduction in resources that could undermine ART's continued ability to realize its ambitious, but costly, artistic vision. In 13 years, ART's annual budget had grown from just over $1 million to nearly $6 million, with substantial increases in earned income, contributed support, and endowment. Given the deteriorating outlook for contributed support in 1994, Brustein and Orchard faced a limited set of options, all of which were likely to constrain the artistic freedom Brustein and Orchard prized so highly and any one of which could alienate the loyal but discerning audience that ART had cultivated so carefully, damaging its hard-won reputation and eroding the cutting-edge image that appealed to the national funders. As they met to finalize the program planning and budget for the 1994 season, Brustein and Orchard found it increasingly difficult to identify new sources of income to compensate for the cutbacks they expected. The case highlights, in particular, the way in which mission and strategy are executed through choices about policies, activities, and resource allocation.

Case Authors : James A. Phills, Ed Martenson, Gregory Scott

Topic : Strategy & Execution

Related Areas : Ethics, Strategic planning

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for American Repertory Theatre in the 1990s (A) Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10020195)	-10020195	-	-
Year 1	3470662	-6549533	3470662	0.9434	3274209
Year 2	3970981	-2578552	7441643	0.89	3534159
Year 3	3941563	1363011	11383206	0.8396	3309412
Year 4	3233470	4596481	14616676	0.7921	2561211
TOTAL			14616676		12678992

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2658797

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 Brustein Orchard 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. Brustein Orchard 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 American Repertory Theatre in the 1990s (A)

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 Brustein Orchard 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 Brustein Orchard 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	(10020195)	-10020195	-	-
Year 1	3470662	-6549533	3470662	0.8696	3017967
Year 2	3970981	-2578552	7441643	0.7561	3002632
Year 3	3941563	1363011	11383206	0.6575	2591642
Year 4	3233470	4596481	14616676	0.5718	1848747
TOTAL					10460988

The Net NPV after 4 years is 440793

(10460988 - 10020195 )

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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	(10020195)	-10020195	-	-
Year 1	3470662	-6549533	3470662	0.8333	2892218
Year 2	3970981	-2578552	7441643	0.6944	2757626
Year 3	3941563	1363011	11383206	0.5787	2280997
Year 4	3233470	4596481	14616676	0.4823	1559351
TOTAL					9490192

The Net NPV after 4 years is -530003

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9490192 - 10020195 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Brustein Orchard 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 Brustein Orchard has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Brustein Orchard 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 Brustein Orchard, then the stock price of the Brustein Orchard 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 Brustein Orchard 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 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 are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

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 American Repertory Theatre in the 1990s (A)

References & Further Readings

James A. Phills, Ed Martenson, Gregory Scott (2018), "American Repertory Theatre in the 1990s (A) Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.