Sentax Corporation is an international manufacturer of fragrances for women. Management at Sentax is considering expanding the product line to men's fragrances. From the best estimates of the marketing and production managers, annual sales (all for cash) for this new line are 2,000,000 units at $100 per unit; cash variable cost is $50 per unit; and cash fixed costs are $18,000,000 per year. The investment project requires $100,000,000 of cash outflow and has a project life of 4 years.
At the end of the 4-year useful life, there will be no terminal disposal value. Assume all cash flows occur at year-end except for initial investment amounts.
Men's fragrance is a new market for Sentax, and management is concerned about the reliability of the estimates. The controller has proposed applying sensitivity analysis to selected factors. Ignore income taxes in your computations. Sentax's required rate of return on this project is 16%.
Required
1. Calculate the net present value of this investment proposal.
2. Calculate the effect on the net present value of the following two changes in assumptions. (Treat each item independently of the other.)
a. 20% reduction in the selling price
b. 20% increase in the variable cost per unit
3. Discuss how management would use the data developed in requirements 1 and 2 in its consideration of the proposed capital investment.