Question

The president of your company, MorChuck Enterprises, has asked you to evaluate the proposed acquisition of a new chromatograph for the firm's R&D department. The equipment's basic price is $79,000, and it would cost another $20,000 to modify it for special use by your firm. The chromatograph, which falls into the MACRS 3-year class, would be sold after 3 years for $26,800. The MACRS rates for the first three years are 0.3333, 0.4445 and 0.1481. (Ignore the half-year convention for the straight-line method.) Use of the equipment would require an increase in net working capital (spare parts inventory) of $3,750. The machine would have no effect on revenues, but it is expected to save the firm $29,030 per year in before-tax operating costs, mainly labor. The firm's marginal federal-plus-state tax rate is 25%. Cash outflows and negative NPV value, if any, should be indicated by a minus sign. Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answers to the nearest dollar.

1. What is the Year-0 net cash flow?

   $  

2. What are the net operating cash flows in Years 1, 2, and 3? (Note: Do not include recovery of NWC or salvage value in Year 3's calculation here.)

   Year 1:	$
   Year 2:	$
   Year 3:	$

3. What is the additional (nonoperating) cash flow in Year 3?

   $  

4. If the project's cost of capital is 11%, what is the NPV of the project?

   $  

   Should the chromatograph be purchased?

Answer 1