PRIME FORESTRY GROUP AND PRECIOUS WOODS (A): PULP FICTION OR MONEY GROWING ON TREES? 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 PRIME FORESTRY GROUP AND PRECIOUS WOODS (A): PULP FICTION OR MONEY GROWING ON TREES? case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. PRIME FORESTRY GROUP AND PRECIOUS WOODS (A): PULP FICTION OR MONEY GROWING ON TREES? case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Benoit Leleux, Nir Berger. The PRIME FORESTRY GROUP AND PRECIOUS WOODS (A): PULP FICTION OR MONEY GROWING ON TREES? (referred as “Wood Forestry” 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, Financial management.

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 PRIME FORESTRY GROUP AND PRECIOUS WOODS (A): PULP FICTION OR MONEY GROWING ON TREES? Case Study

Anna had thought about investing in forests in the past, but she was not an expert in forestry or plantations and neither was her financial advisor, although he did say that it was a "great asset class for the wealthy, but not necessarily for ordinary citizens." Timberland, as an asset class, had generated average annual returns of 14.5% since 1972, beating the average returns of most stock markets over that period and on par with those generated by the private equity industry.Other claimed benefits included (1) solid returns over the long term; (2) nice diversification of a portfolio and an original risk/return profile; (3) lenient tax treatment of forest-related income; (4) a feel good factor about what you did for planet Earth. Additional factors played in favor of forestry investments, such as the flexibility to decide harvesting times based on market conditions for wood products, the ability to use long-term contracts to hedge against downturns and the multiple uses for the harvested products, from pulp and wood pallets to high quality wood panels. Timber also offered the ability to "warehouse" its value for long periods of time, as well as the ability to time the harvests to market conditions without suffering potential impairment due to technological or market obsolescence, like many other inventoried tangible assets. Finally, the reckless endangerment of natural forests around the world by so-called "wood pirates," either driven by greed or survival needs for cooking and heating material, called for action. Regular magazine articles and TV shows trumpeted the fact that the "lungs of the earth" in Southeast Asia and in the Amazon were at great risk of being destroyed by the greed of corrupt military officers, illegal loggers and international companies intent on making a quick buck at the cost of destroying fragile ecological systems. Learning objectives: Discuss timberland as an alternative asset class. Analyze two real investment opportunities offered in 2004. Discuss sustainable investment and the rules of engagement for profitable investment.

Case Authors : Benoit Leleux, Nir Berger

Topic : Leadership & Managing People

Related Areas : Financial management

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for PRIME FORESTRY GROUP AND PRECIOUS WOODS (A): PULP FICTION OR MONEY GROWING ON TREES? Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10018367)	-10018367	-	-
Year 1	3444095	-6574272	3444095	0.9434	3249146
Year 2	3966587	-2607685	7410682	0.89	3530248
Year 3	3944941	1337256	11355623	0.8396	3312249
Year 4	3251232	4588488	14606855	0.7921	2575280
TOTAL			14606855		12666923

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2648556

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. Payback Period
3. Internal Rate of Return
4. Net Present Value

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 Wood Forestry 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. Wood Forestry 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 PRIME FORESTRY GROUP AND PRECIOUS WOODS (A): PULP FICTION OR MONEY GROWING ON TREES?

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 Wood Forestry 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 Wood Forestry 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	(10018367)	-10018367	-	-
Year 1	3444095	-6574272	3444095	0.8696	2994865
Year 2	3966587	-2607685	7410682	0.7561	2999310
Year 3	3944941	1337256	11355623	0.6575	2593863
Year 4	3251232	4588488	14606855	0.5718	1858902
TOTAL					10446940

The Net NPV after 4 years is 428573

(10446940 - 10018367 )

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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	(10018367)	-10018367	-	-
Year 1	3444095	-6574272	3444095	0.8333	2870079
Year 2	3966587	-2607685	7410682	0.6944	2754574
Year 3	3944941	1337256	11355623	0.5787	2282952
Year 4	3251232	4588488	14606855	0.4823	1567917
TOTAL					9475522

The Net NPV after 4 years is -542845

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9475522 - 10018367 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Wood Forestry 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 Wood Forestry has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Wood Forestry 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 Wood Forestry, then the stock price of the Wood Forestry 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 Wood Forestry 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 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.

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 PRIME FORESTRY GROUP AND PRECIOUS WOODS (A): PULP FICTION OR MONEY GROWING ON TREES?

References & Further Readings

Benoit Leleux, Nir Berger (2018), "PRIME FORESTRY GROUP AND PRECIOUS WOODS (A): PULP FICTION OR MONEY GROWING ON TREES? Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.