In: Finance
LENZ-SIMON CASTINGS CORPORATION CASE ANALYSIS
Cydney Lenz, CFO of Lenz-Simon Corporation (LSC) is considering the
purchase of an Aspen automated mold-maker machine to replace six
existing semi-automated molding machines. The Aspen mold-maker
machine is expected to improve the quality of LSC precision metal
castings and to provide additional capacity for future expansion.
Cydney plans to carefully estimate the project’s benefits and costs
in order to make a recommendation to the LSC Board of Directors on
whether to proceed with the proposed capital expenditure.
The Company
Lenz-Simon Corporation specializes in the production of precision
metal castings for use in the automotive industry. Because its
precision castings are used in transmissions, steering-assembly
parts, and crankshafts, LSC customers require extremely high
quality products from the firm. For its part, LSC has met the
challenge and has become a preferred supplier to many of the top
automotive firms in North America and Europe. Benefits of being a
preferred supplier include long-term supply contracts and
preferential bidding on new contracts.
LSC is a closely-held firm with the founding Simon families owning
51% of the common shares outstanding. LSC common stock trades on
Nasdaq. LSC has traditionally employed a hurdle rate of 15% on
invested capital, but this rate has not been reviewed since 1985.
Cydney believes the firm’s existing capital structure of 30%
debt-70% equity is optimal for LSC. The debt consists entirely of
loans from Fifth Dimension Bank and bears an interest rate of 8.5%.
LSC’s federal-plus-state marginal tax rate is about 40%. Going back
to the early 1980s, the firm has sought to earn a rate of return on
its equity investment of about 18%. A financial analyst has
supplied Cydney with some financial information: the yield on
20-year US Treasury bonds is currently at 5.0% and the market risk
premium is about 6.5%. The beta coefficient for LSC is 1.3, which
is consistent with other firms in the industry that have similar
capital structures.
The Aspen Automated Mold-Maker Machine
LSC currently uses six semi-automated machines to produce its
precision molds. The process requires some heavy lifting from
workers, and medical claims for back injuries in the molding shop
have doubled over the past decade. The existing machines were
purchased five years ago at a total installed cost of $443,500 and
are being depreciated using 5-year MACRS depreciation. LSC has
received an offer of $100,000 for the six machines. LSC management
believes that the semi-automated machines will need to be replaced
after about six years.
The LSC foundry currently operates two eight-hour shifts per day.
The firm’s foundry is closed for holidays and most weekends;
therefore production occurs 240 days per year. The current
semi-automated machines require 12 workers per shift (24 in total)
at $11.50 per worker per hour, plus the equivalent of 1.5
maintenance workers per shift, each of whom is paid $9.25 an hour,
plus maintenance supplies of $5,600 a year. Cydney assumed that the
semi-automated machines, if kept, would continue to consume
electrical power at the rate of $17,750 a year.
The cost of the new Aspen automated molding machine would be
$1,075,000, which includes shipping from the manufacturer in
Boulder, Colorado. LSC engineers estimate that installation and
modifications to the plant will cost $245,000 and LSC would
capitalize and depreciate these costs for tax purposes. The Aspen
would be depreciated using 5-year MACRS depreciation. A senior
plant engineer estimates that the Aspen Mold-Maker would need to
be
replaced after the sixth year and would have an estimated salvage
value of $180,000 at that time. The new machine would require two
skilled operators (one per eight-hour shift), each receiving $16.25
per hour (including benefits). LSC would also enter into an annual
maintenance contract for the Aspen mold-maker at an annual cost of
$65,500. Power costs are estimated to be $38,500 yearly. In
addition, the automatic machine is expected to generate annual
savings of $7,500 through improved labor efficiency in other areas
of the foundry. All savings and costs, excluding depreciation, are
expected to increase at the expected inflation rate of 3% per
year.
Cydney finds certain aspects of the decision to purchase the Aspen
molding equipment difficult to quantify. In order to smooth the
production workflow with the existing semi-automated machines,
about 30% of foundry’s floor space is devoted to wide galleries
that are needed to stage raw materials next to each machine. The
automated machine would free up about half of the gallery space for
other purposes. At the present time, however, there is no need for
new space. She believes that the Aspen automated machine would
result in even higher levels of product quality and lower scrap
rates than the company was now achieving. With intensifying global
competition, this outcome may prove to have significant competitive
importance. The Aspen has a maximum capacity that is 33% higher
than that of the six semi-automated machines; but those machines
were operating at only 90% of capacity, and Cydney was unsure when
additional capacity would be needed. The latest economic news
suggested that the economies of North America Europe would continue
with sluggish growth.
Finally, Cydney is unsure whether the tough collective-bargaining
agreement her company had with the employees’ union would allow her
to lay off the 24 operators of the semi-automated machines.
Reassigning the workers to other jobs might be easier, but the only
positions needing to be filled were those of janitors, who were
paid $8.75 an hour. The extent of any labor savings would depend on
negotiations with the union.
Assignment
Write a brief report to Cydney with a recommendation on whether to
purchase the Aspen Mold-Maker Machine. Defend your recommendation
with a comprehensive capital budgeting analysis that estimates the
after-tax incremental cash flows and the resulting NPV for the
proposed project. Discuss how any additional uncertainties or
qualitative considerations affect your decision. Your analysis
should include the appropriate discount rate used for the project.
It should also include a sensitivity analysis on the 3% annual
inflation rate, letting it vary from 1% to 6% per year by
increments of 1%. Perform a sensitivity analysis on any other key
input variables that you deem to be important.
Cydney has requested the following format for your report. The
first page should be a written analysis which includes your
recommendation and discussion of key issues. The centered heading
at the top of the first page should read: ANALYSIS OF ASPEN
MOLD-MAKER MACHINE and your name should be immediately below it.
The second page should provide the detailed computations of the
after-tax incremental cash flow calculations in table format.
Please include the NPV calculation at the bottom of the page. The
third page should show summary calculations for depreciation and
taxes on salvage value. The fourth page should detail the
computation of WACC for the project. The final few pages should
provide the results of key sensitivity analyses. All discussion,
however, should be on the first page (except for stating any
assumptions, etc.