Sony Corporation's Aibo: An Intelligent Decision? 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 Sony Corporation's Aibo: An Intelligent Decision? case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Sony Corporation's Aibo: An Intelligent Decision? case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Tulsi Jayakumar. The Sony Corporation's Aibo: An Intelligent Decision? (referred as “Aibo Sony” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Leadership & Managing People. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Manufacturing, Risk management, 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 Sony Corporation's Aibo: An Intelligent Decision? Case Study

In November 2017, the chief executive officer of Sony Corporation was preparing to announce the company's release of its rebooted robo-pup, the Aibo-a robot equipped with sensors and actuator technologies, and powered by artificial intelligence that allowed this virtual pet to behave like a real dog. Sony Corporation, the 70-year-old iconic Japanese manufacturing company, had diverse businesses. After significant restructuring since 1999 to address its financial troubles, the company was expected, in March 2018, to post a record operating profit for the first time in two decades. How did a virtual pet business, especially one that had already proved unviable in the past, fit into such a restructuring exercise? Was Sony Corporation's Aibo an intelligent decision? Tulsi Jayakumar is affiliated with SP Jain Institute of Management & Research.

Case Authors : Tulsi Jayakumar

Topic : Leadership & Managing People

Related Areas : Manufacturing, Risk management, Technology

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Sony Corporation's Aibo: An Intelligent Decision? Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10020257)	-10020257	-	-
Year 1	3464291	-6555966	3464291	0.9434	3268199
Year 2	3977473	-2578493	7441764	0.89	3539937
Year 3	3947441	1368948	11389205	0.8396	3314348
Year 4	3247252	4616200	14636457	0.7921	2572128
TOTAL			14636457		12694611

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2674354

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. Profitability Index
3. Net Present Value
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. Aibo Sony 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 Aibo Sony 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 Sony Corporation's Aibo: An Intelligent Decision?

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 Leadership & Managing People 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 Aibo Sony 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 Aibo Sony 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	(10020257)	-10020257	-	-
Year 1	3464291	-6555966	3464291	0.8696	3012427
Year 2	3977473	-2578493	7441764	0.7561	3007541
Year 3	3947441	1368948	11389205	0.6575	2595507
Year 4	3247252	4616200	14636457	0.5718	1856627
TOTAL					10472101

The Net NPV after 4 years is 451844

(10472101 - 10020257 )

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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	(10020257)	-10020257	-	-
Year 1	3464291	-6555966	3464291	0.8333	2886909
Year 2	3977473	-2578493	7441764	0.6944	2762134
Year 3	3947441	1368948	11389205	0.5787	2284399
Year 4	3247252	4616200	14636457	0.4823	1565997
TOTAL					9499439

The Net NPV after 4 years is -520818

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9499439 - 10020257 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Aibo Sony 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 Aibo Sony has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Aibo Sony 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 Aibo Sony, then the stock price of the Aibo Sony 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 Aibo Sony 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.

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

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 Sony Corporation's Aibo: An Intelligent Decision?

References & Further Readings

Tulsi Jayakumar (2018), "Sony Corporation's Aibo: An Intelligent Decision? Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.