Question

You must evaluate the purchase of a proposed spectrometer for the R&D department. The base price is $60,000, and it would cost another $15,000 to modify the equipment for special use by the firm. The equipment falls into the MACRS 3-year class and would be sold after 3 years for $27,000. The applicable depreciation rates are 33%, 45%, 15%, and 7%. The equipment would require an $12,000 increase in net operating working capital (spare parts inventory). The project would have no effect on revenues, but it should save the firm $60,000 per year in before-tax labor costs. The firm's marginal federal-plus-state tax rate is 35%.

A) What is the initial investment outlay for the spectrometer, that is, what is the Year 0 project cash flow? Enter your answer as a positive value. Round your answer to the nearest cent. $

B) What are the project's annual cash flows in Years 1, 2, and 3? Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answers to the nearest cent. Year 1: $ Year 2: $ Year 3: $

If the WACC is 13%, should the spectrometer be purchased?

Answer 1