Shiela Forbes is the Chief Financial Officer [CFO] of MELBOURNE ENGINEERING, a U.S. based manufacturer of gas

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Question:

Shiela Forbes is the Chief Financial Officer [CFO] of MELBOURNE ENGINEERING, a U.S. based manufacturer of gas turbine equipment. She has just concluded negotiations for the sale of a turbine generator to Crown, a British firm for THREE million pounds. This single sale is quite large in relation to MELBOURNE ENGINEERING’s present business. MELBOURNE ENGINEERING has no other current foreign customers, so the currency risk of this sale is of particular concern. The sale is made in December with payment due six months later in June. Shiela Forbes has collected the following financial market information for the analysis of her currency exposure problem:

Spot Exchange rate: $1.2940 per British pound.
Six-month forward rate: $1.2949 per pound
MELBOURNE MANUFACTURING’s cost of capital: 14%
U.K. annual borrowing interest rate: 16.0% (or 8% interest for six months)
U.K. annual investment interest rate: 14.0% (7% interest for six months)
U.S. annual borrowing interest rate: 8.0% (4.0% interest for six months)
U.S. one-year investment interest rate: 6.0% (3% interest for six months)
June put option in the over-the-counter (bank) market for 1,000,000 British pounds;

Strike price $1.27 (nearly at-the money) 2.0% premium

MELBOURNE MANUFACTURING’s advisory service forecast the spot rate in six months will be $1.28/pound.

Like many manufacturing firms, MELBOURNE MANUFACTURING operates on relatively narrow margins. Although Ms. Forbes and MELBOURNE MANUFACTURING would be very happy if the pound appreciated versus the dollars, concerns center on the possibility that the pound will fall. When Ms. Forbes budgeted this specific contract, she determined that the minimum acceptable margin was at a sale price of $3,750,000. The budget rate, the lowest acceptable dollar per pound exchange rate, was therefore established at $1.25 per British pound. Any exchange rate below would result in MELBOURNE ENGINEERING actually losing money on the transaction.

Four alternatives are available to MELBOURNE ENGINEERING to manage the exposure: