Pacific Grove Spice Company, Spanish Version 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 Pacific Grove Spice Company, Spanish Version case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Pacific Grove Spice Company, Spanish Version case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by William E. Fruhan, Craig Stephenson. The Pacific Grove Spice Company, Spanish Version (referred as “Spice Grove” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Finance & Accounting. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Budgeting, Business models, Costs, Financial analysis, Mergers & acquisitions.

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 Pacific Grove Spice Company, Spanish Version Case Study

Pacific Grove Spice Company is a profitable, rapidly growing manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of quality spices and seasonings. The company's business model requires significant investment in accounts receivable, inventory, and fixed assets to support sales. Although the company is profitable and all of its net income is reinvested in the firm, the firm must utilize significant amounts of debt to fund the necessary growth in assets to support sales. The bank is concerned about the total amount of interest-bearing debt on Pacific's balance sheet and has asked the company to provide a plan to reduce it. Debra Peterson, president and CEO, believes the current four-year financial projections are reasonable and attainable. She is also considering three opportunities: sponsoring a cable cooking show, raising new capital by selling shares of common stock, and acquiring a privately owned spice company. Students must analyze the company's financial projections to determine if the reduction in debt meets the bank's requirements. They must also analyze the opportunities and consider their individual and combined impacts on the company's financial position. The case illustrates the interaction between investment and financing decisions. This multifaceted case can be taught in a single class session or extended over several sessions and can be used as a final exam for an introductory MBA-level Finance course.

Case Authors : William E. Fruhan, Craig Stephenson

Topic : Finance & Accounting

Related Areas : Budgeting, Business models, Costs, Financial analysis, Mergers & acquisitions

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Pacific Grove Spice Company, Spanish Version Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10025811)	-10025811	-	-
Year 1	3444079	-6581732	3444079	0.9434	3249131
Year 2	3975779	-2605953	7419858	0.89	3538429
Year 3	3955597	1349644	11375455	0.8396	3321196
Year 4	3250740	4600384	14626195	0.7921	2574891
TOTAL			14626195		12683646

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2657835

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. Profitability Index
2. Net Present Value
3. Payback Period
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 Spice Grove 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. Spice Grove 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 Pacific Grove Spice Company, Spanish Version

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 Spice Grove 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 Spice Grove 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	(10025811)	-10025811	-	-
Year 1	3444079	-6581732	3444079	0.8696	2994851
Year 2	3975779	-2605953	7419858	0.7561	3006260
Year 3	3955597	1349644	11375455	0.6575	2600869
Year 4	3250740	4600384	14626195	0.5718	1858621
TOTAL					10460602

The Net NPV after 4 years is 434791

(10460602 - 10025811 )

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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	(10025811)	-10025811	-	-
Year 1	3444079	-6581732	3444079	0.8333	2870066
Year 2	3975779	-2605953	7419858	0.6944	2760958
Year 3	3955597	1349644	11375455	0.5787	2289119
Year 4	3250740	4600384	14626195	0.4823	1567679
TOTAL					9487822

The Net NPV after 4 years is -537989

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9487822 - 10025811 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Spice Grove 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 Spice Grove has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Spice Grove 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 Spice Grove, then the stock price of the Spice Grove 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 Spice Grove 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 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 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 Pacific Grove Spice Company, Spanish Version

References & Further Readings

William E. Fruhan, Craig Stephenson (2018), "Pacific Grove Spice Company, Spanish Version Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.