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Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market 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 Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market case study


At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Serene Chen, Juho Eino Ilmari Mikkonen, Valeria Barreca, Trichy Krishnan. The Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market (referred as “Ramcides Agrochemical” 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, Leadership transitions, Manufacturing, Venture capital.

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






Case Description of Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market Case Study


During the Holi festival in March 2012, the managing director of Ramcides, a family-run agrochemical business, was considering the path of the company that his eldest brother had started in 1973. Ramcides had a goal to achieve US$50 million in revenues by March 2014 and $130 million in the following five years. The managing director reflected on whether the company was on the right path towards achieving that objective. Much had changed since an infusion of private equity from a venture capital firm in 2008, but there was still much to be done. There was also the matter of the venture capital firm's planned exit, and where the company would then secure additional funding. All the stakeholders were clear on promoting the future growth and success of Ramcides, but the next three to five years were a critical time of transition. What needed to be done to ensure continued success? The current manager viewed himself as the managing director in transition-the bridge between Ramcides's history as a family-run firm and its future as a professionalized agrochemical company.


Case Authors : Serene Chen, Juho Eino Ilmari Mikkonen, Valeria Barreca, Trichy Krishnan

Topic : Leadership & Managing People

Related Areas : Leadership transitions, Manufacturing, Venture capital




Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market Case Study


Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 6 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10007150) -10007150 - -
Year 1 3447413 -6559737 3447413 0.9434 3252276
Year 2 3957501 -2602236 7404914 0.89 3522162
Year 3 3965976 1363740 11370890 0.8396 3329910
Year 4 3229964 4593704 14600854 0.7921 2558434
TOTAL 14600854 12662782




The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2655632

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.




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. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Ramcides Agrochemical 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. Ramcides Agrochemical shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.






Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market

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 Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides Agrochemical 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 (10007150) -10007150 - -
Year 1 3447413 -6559737 3447413 0.8696 2997750
Year 2 3957501 -2602236 7404914 0.7561 2992439
Year 3 3965976 1363740 11370890 0.6575 2607694
Year 4 3229964 4593704 14600854 0.5718 1846742
TOTAL 10444626


The Net NPV after 4 years is 437476

(10444626 - 10007150 )








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 (10007150) -10007150 - -
Year 1 3447413 -6559737 3447413 0.8333 2872844
Year 2 3957501 -2602236 7404914 0.6944 2748265
Year 3 3965976 1363740 11370890 0.5787 2295125
Year 4 3229964 4593704 14600854 0.4823 1557660
TOTAL 9473894


The Net NPV after 4 years is -533256

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9473894 - 10007150 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides Agrochemical has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides Agrochemical, then the stock price of the Ramcides Agrochemical 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 Ramcides Agrochemical 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.

Understanding of risks involved in 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 can impact the cash flow of 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.






Negotiation Strategy of Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market

References & Further Readings

Serene Chen, Juho Eino Ilmari Mikkonen, Valeria Barreca, Trichy Krishnan (2018), "Ramcides: Growing Pains for a Family-Run Business in an Emerging Market Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.


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