Australian Paper Manufacturers (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 Australian Paper Manufacturers (A) case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Australian Paper Manufacturers (A) case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by David M. Upton, Joshua D. Margolis. The Australian Paper Manufacturers (A) (referred as “Paper Australian” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Technology & Operations. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Growth strategy, Manufacturing, Marketing, Product development, Sustainability, Technology.

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 Australian Paper Manufacturers (A) Case Study

Describes a company which has broken an unwritten cordial agreement amongst the three Australian paper manufacturers to split the domestic market three ways by market segment. The company invades another's "territory" with advanced technology, quality, and, importantly, by using the other company's poor environmental record to protect itself against retaliation. The defender finds itself unable to respond by adding capacity as public pressure denies it the ability to add capacity and upgrade the technology. Having won a large share of the market, and having successfully introduced a new recycled paper product, the invader is now considering the financial, strategic, and ethical issues of further expansion.

Case Authors : David M. Upton, Joshua D. Margolis

Topic : Technology & Operations

Related Areas : Growth strategy, Manufacturing, Marketing, Product development, Sustainability, Technology

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Australian Paper Manufacturers (A) Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10002226)	-10002226	-	-
Year 1	3453151	-6549075	3453151	0.9434	3257690
Year 2	3968812	-2580263	7421963	0.89	3532229
Year 3	3972942	1392679	11394905	0.8396	3335759
Year 4	3232865	4625544	14627770	0.7921	2560732
TOTAL			14627770		12686409

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2684183

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

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Australian Paper Manufacturers (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 Technology & Operations 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 Paper Australian 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 Paper Australian 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	(10002226)	-10002226	-	-
Year 1	3453151	-6549075	3453151	0.8696	3002740
Year 2	3968812	-2580263	7421963	0.7561	3000992
Year 3	3972942	1392679	11394905	0.6575	2612274
Year 4	3232865	4625544	14627770	0.5718	1848401
TOTAL					10464407

The Net NPV after 4 years is 462181

(10464407 - 10002226 )

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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	(10002226)	-10002226	-	-
Year 1	3453151	-6549075	3453151	0.8333	2877626
Year 2	3968812	-2580263	7421963	0.6944	2756119
Year 3	3972942	1392679	11394905	0.5787	2299156
Year 4	3232865	4625544	14627770	0.4823	1559059
TOTAL					9491961

The Net NPV after 4 years is -510265

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9491961 - 10002226 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Paper Australian 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 Paper Australian has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Paper Australian 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 Paper Australian, then the stock price of the Paper Australian 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 Paper Australian 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 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.

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 Australian Paper Manufacturers (A)

References & Further Readings

David M. Upton, Joshua D. Margolis (2018), "Australian Paper Manufacturers (A) Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.