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Writer's pictureAnnick Torres Stienissen

Investment decisions: dynamic methods

Updated: Apr 23, 2020

Discounted Payback Method, Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, Profitability Index, and the Weighted Average Profitability Index.



Discounted Payback Method


  • Represents the amount of time that it takes (in years) for the initial cost of a project to equal to discounted value of expected cash flows.

  • Discounted payback accounts for time value - Applies discount rate to cash flows during payback period. - But still ignores cash flows after required payback period.


Discounted Payback Method: Pros and Cons


Advantages of discounted payback method:

  • Easy to calculate

  • Easy to understand

  • Focuses on cash flow

  • Takes into account the time value of money & risk

Disadvantages of discounted payback method:

  • Cut-off period is arbitrary

  • Does not lead to value-maximizing decisions


Example with Excel (Exercise 5 - Tecnocampus) (VIDEO - Spanish Version): https://www.loom.com/share/d30b52a3740e441e9eb0bc0e47535a9b


Net Present Value


  • NPV: The sum of the present values of a project's cash inflows and outflows.

  • Discounting cash flows accounts for the time value of money.

  • Choosing the appropriate discount rate accounts for risk.

  • When the NPV is higher than 0, we accept the project because we are getting more than we invested (Accept projects in NPV>0).

  • Formula: NPV = CFo + CF1/(1+k)^1 + CF2/(1+k)^2+...+ CFn/(1+k)^n

  • A key input in NPV analysis is the discount rate. - k represents the minimum rate that the project must earn to satisfy investors. - k varies with the risk of the firm and /or the risk of the project.


Net Present Value: Pros and Cons


Advantages:

  • NPV is the 'gold standard' of investment decision rules.

  • Focuses on cash flows, not accounting earnings.

  • Makes appropriate adjustment for time value of money.

  • Can properly account for risk differences between projects.

Disadvantages:

  • Lacks the intuitive appeal of payback.

Example with Excel (Exercise 6 - Tecnocampus) (VIDEO - Spanish Version):


Internal Rate of Return


  • The IRR, is the point where we will recover our investment. It's the break even point: total costs = income.

  • It's the discount rate that results in a zero NPV for a project (NPV = 0).

  • Formula: NPV = 0 = CFo + CF1/(1+r)^1 + CF2/(1+r)^2+...+ CFn/(1+r)^n

  • The IRR decision rule for an investing project is: - If IRR is greater than the minimum required return, accept the project. - If IRR is less than the minimum required return, reject the project.


Internal Rate of Return: Pros and Cons


Advantages of IRR:

  • Properly adjusts for time value of money

  • Uses cash flows rather than earnings

  • Accounts for all cash flows

  • Project IRR is a number with intuitive appeal

Disadvantages of IRR:

  • “Mathematical problems”: multiple IRRs, no real solutions

  • Scale problem

  • Timing problem

Example with Excel (Exercise 7 - Tecnocampus) (VIDEO - Spanish Version):


It is also possible to find multiple internal rate of return, this situation happens when a project has cash flows with multiple changes in signs. The question here is, which IRR do we use?

  • The answer is that there is no real solution. Sometimes, projects do not have a real IRR solution, because there is no real number that will make NPV = 0.


The scale problem


The scale problem appears when the NPV and the IRR do not agree when raking competing projects.


For example: if we have two different projects:

  1. European project: IRR = 28,2% and the NPV = €85,6m

  2. US project: IRR = 46,7% and the NPV = €35,7m

The US project has a higher IRR, but doesn't increase shareholder's wealth (NPV) as much as the European project. Therefore, a higher NPV is more attractive than a higher IRR, because the opportunities to make a larger investment is more attractive.


Profitability Index


  • It is calculated by dividing the PV of a project's cash inflows by the PV of its initial cash flows.

  • Formula:

  • A project is accepted when PI > 1,0, or equal to NPV > 0. The highest, the better.

  • For example: Project PV of CF (years 1 to 5) Initial Outlay PI EU project € 425,7 million € 350 million 1,2 US project € 85,9 million € 60 million 1,4 Answer: PI has been calculated dividing PV of CF by the Initial Outlay (|CFo|). Both PI are bigger than 1, so both are acceptable if independent. However, the highest the better.

  • Like IRR, PI suffers from the scale problem.

Example with Excel (Exercise 8 - Tecnocampus) (VIDEO - Spanish Version):


Weighted Average Profitability Index (WAPI)


The WAPI is calculated when we know the maximum amount of EUR that we can invest in one or more projects.


For example:

  • If we only have 400,000 EUR to invest. Which project to we select? Project PV Investment PI A 240.000,00€ 210.000,00€ 1,14 B 151.350,00€ 135.000,00€ 1,12 C 198.450,00€ 180.000,00€ 1,10 D 172.000,00€ 160.000,00€ 1,08


WAPI project A + C = 1,14 x (210/400) + 1,10 x (180/400) + 0 x (10/400) = 1.09 WAPI project A + B = 1,14 x (210/400) + 1,12 x (135/400) + 0 x (55/400) = 0.98

WAPI project A + D = 1,14 x (210/400) + 1,08 x (160/400) + 0 x (30/400) = 1.03

WAPI project B + C = 1,12 x (135/400) + 1,10 x (180/400) + 0 x (85/400) = 0.87 WAPI project B + D = 1,12 x (135/400) + 1,08 x (160/400) + 0 x (105/400) = 0.81 WAPI project D + C = 1,08 x (160/400) + 1,10 x (180/400) + 0 x (60/400) = 0.93


Answer: After trying all the possible combinations, we have to select the project with the highest Weighted Average PI. In this example, the highest WAPI is Project A + C with 1.09, which means that we will invest in those two projects because they have the highest weighted average profitability index.


Example with Excel (Exercise 9 - Tecnocampus) (VIDEO - Spanish Version):



*Information and Loom exercises have been gathered from Tecnocampus' slides and own knowledge.

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