Average Rate of Return Method, Net Present Value Method, and analysis for a Service Company

The capital investment committee of Ellis Transport and Storage Inc. is considering two investment projects. The estimated operating income and net cash flows from each investment are as follows:

	Warehouse					Tracking Technology
Year	Operating Income		Net Cash Flow			Operating Income		Net Cash Flow
1	$ 61,400		$135,000			$ 34,400		$108,000
2	51,400		125,000			34,400		108,000
3	36,400		110,000			34,400		108,000
4	26,400		100,000			34,400		108,000
5	(3,600)		70,000			34,400		108,000
Total	$172,000		$540,000			$172,000		$540,000

Each project requires an investment of $368,000. Straight-line depreciation will be used, and no residual value is expected. The committee has selected a rate of 15% for purposes of the net present value analysis.

Present Value of $1 at Compound Interest
Year	6%	10%	12%	15%	20%
1	0.943	0.909	0.893	0.870	0.833
2	0.890	0.826	0.797	0.756	0.694
3	0.840	0.751	0.712	0.658	0.579
4	0.792	0.683	0.636	0.572	0.482
5	0.747	0.621	0.567	0.497	0.402
6	0.705	0.564	0.507	0.432	0.335
7	0.665	0.513	0.452	0.376	0.279
8	0.627	0.467	0.404	0.327	0.233
9	0.592	0.424	0.361	0.284	0.194
10	0.558	0.386	0.322	0.247	0.162

Required:

1a. Compute the average rate of return for each investment. If required, round your answers to one decimal place.

	Average Rate of Return
Warehouse	%
Tracking Technology	%

1b. Compute the net present value for each investment. Use the present value of $1 table above. If required, use the minus sign to indicate a negative net present value. If required, round to the nearest dollar.

	Warehouse	Tracking Technology
Total present value of net cash flow	$	$
Amount to be invested
Net present value	$	$

2. The warehouse net present value exceeds the selected rate established for discounted cash flows (15%), while the tracking technology does not. Thus, considering only quantitative factors, the warehouse investment should be selected.