In: Finance
Consider a project with a 6-year life. The initial cost to set up the project is $450,000. This amount is to be linearly depreciated to zero over the life of the project. The firm expects to be able to sell the equipment for $90,000 after 6 years.
The price per unit is $380, variable costs are $304 per unit and fixed costs are $45,000 per year. The project has a required return of 12% and a tax rate of 28%.
How many units must be sold per year for the project to achieve financial break-even?
Annual depreciation = Initial cost/Number of useful years
= $ 450,000/6 = $ 75,000
To achieve financial breakeven, NPV of the project should be zero.
Contribution per unit = Sales – Variable cost = $ 380 - $ 304 = $ 76
Suppose annual breakeven sales unit is X.
Contribution for X units = $ 76 X
NPV of the project
= Annual cash inflows x PVIFA (r, n) + after tax scrap value x PVIF (r, n) – Initial investment
Hence,
[(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000] x (1-0.28) + $ 75,000 x PVIFA (12 %, 6) + {$ 90,000 x (1-0.28)} x PVIF (12 %, 6) - $ 450,000 = 0
[(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000] x 0.72 + $ 75,000 x PVIFA (12 %, 6) + ($ 90,000 x 0.72) x PVIF (12 %, 6) - $ 450,000 = 0
[(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000] x 0.72 + $ 75,000 x PVIFA (12 %, 6) + ($ 90,000 x 0.72) x PVIF (12 %, 6) = $ 450,000
[{(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000} x 0.72 + $ 75,000] x 4.1114 + ($ 90,000 x 0.72 x 0.50663) = $ 450,000
[{(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000} x 0.72 + $ 75,000] x 4.11141 + $ 32,829.624 = $ 450,000
[{(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000} x 0.72 + $ 75,000] x 4.11141 = $ 450,000 - $ 32,829.624
[{(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000} x 0.72 + $ 75,000] x 4.11141 = $ 417,170.376
[{(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000} x 0.72 + $ 75,000] = $ 417,170.376/4.11141
{(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000} x 0.72 + $ 75,000 = $ 101,466.498354579
{(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000} x 0.72 = $ 101,466.498354579 - $ 75,000
{(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000} x 0.72 = $ 26,466.498354579
(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000 = $ 26,466.498354579/0.72
(76 X – $ 45,000) - $ 75,000 = $ 36,759.0254924709
76 X – $ 45,000 = $ 36,759.0254924709 + $ 75,000
76 X – $ 45,000 = $ 111,759.025492471
76 X = $ 111,759.025492471 + $ 45,000
76 X = $ 156,759.025492471
X = $ 156,759.025492471/76
X = 2062.618756 or 2,063 units
2,063 units must be sold per year for the project to achieve financial breakeven.