American Solar, Inc.: An Innovative Solar Start Up 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 Solar, Inc.: An Innovative Solar Start Up case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. American Solar, Inc.: An Innovative Solar Start Up case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Susan V. White, Karen Hallows. The American Solar, Inc.: An Innovative Solar Start Up (referred as “Solar Kathryn” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Finance & Accounting. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Entrepreneurial finance.

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 Solar, Inc.: An Innovative Solar Start Up Case Study

American Solar was a small Virginia start up, providing firms with solar thermal energy though new roofing installations. The firm's owners, John Archibald and Kathryn McGeehan, wanted to sell their solar thermal roofing as cost effective systems, not dependent on tax credits to make them economical as was the case with solar photovoltaic electric (PV electric) generation. Kathryn and John competed for a small niche in an already niche market and were working to prove that their system could stand alone as an energy efficient, cost effective heating system. They were battling the high upfront cost of a solar roof and working to sell the long term energy efficiency that solar thermal roofs provided. Kathryn and John knew that a hotel chain-Hannover Inns-was going out asking for bids from roofing companies to replace their roofs. If they could land this contract, it would be their largest commercial contract to date. They wanted to prepare a quote for replacing the roofs along with a presentation, based on cost savings, that could help take their firm to a higher sales level.

Case Authors : Susan V. White, Karen Hallows

Topic : Finance & Accounting

Related Areas : Entrepreneurial finance

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for American Solar, Inc.: An Innovative Solar Start Up Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10024161)	-10024161	-	-
Year 1	3467447	-6556714	3467447	0.9434	3271176
Year 2	3969019	-2587695	7436466	0.89	3532413
Year 3	3947750	1360055	11384216	0.8396	3314607
Year 4	3229944	4589999	14614160	0.7921	2558418
TOTAL			14614160		12676614

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2652453

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. Profitability Index
3. Net Present Value
4. Payback Period

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. Solar Kathryn 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 Solar Kathryn 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 American Solar, Inc.: An Innovative Solar Start Up

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 Finance & Accounting 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 Solar Kathryn 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 Solar Kathryn 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	(10024161)	-10024161	-	-
Year 1	3467447	-6556714	3467447	0.8696	3015171
Year 2	3969019	-2587695	7436466	0.7561	3001149
Year 3	3947750	1360055	11384216	0.6575	2595710
Year 4	3229944	4589999	14614160	0.5718	1846731
TOTAL					10458761

The Net NPV after 4 years is 434600

(10458761 - 10024161 )

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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	(10024161)	-10024161	-	-
Year 1	3467447	-6556714	3467447	0.8333	2889539
Year 2	3969019	-2587695	7436466	0.6944	2756263
Year 3	3947750	1360055	11384216	0.5787	2284578
Year 4	3229944	4589999	14614160	0.4823	1557650
TOTAL					9488030

The Net NPV after 4 years is -536131

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9488030 - 10024161 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Solar Kathryn 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 Solar Kathryn has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Solar Kathryn 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 Solar Kathryn, then the stock price of the Solar Kathryn 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 Solar Kathryn 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 key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

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.

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 Solar, Inc.: An Innovative Solar Start Up

References & Further Readings

Susan V. White, Karen Hallows (2018), "American Solar, Inc.: An Innovative Solar Start Up Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.