3: The Basics of Capital Budgeting: IRR

A project's internal rate of return (IRR) is the ______ that forces the PV of its inflows to equal its cost. The IRR is an estimate of the project's rate of return, and it is comparable to the ______ on a bond. The equation for calculating the IRR is:

CF_t is the expected cash flow in Period t and cash outflows are treated as negative cash flows. There must be a change in cash flow signs to calculate the IRR. The IRR equation is simply the NPV equation solved for the particular discount rate that causes NPV to equal _______. The IRR calculation assumes that cash flows are reinvested at the _______. If the IRR is ________ than the project's risk-adjusted cost of capital, then the project should be accepted; however, if the IRR is less than the project's risk-adjusted cost of capital, then the project should be _________. Because of the IRR reinvestment rate assumption, when _____ projects are evaluated the IRR approach can lead to conflicting results from the NPV method. Two basic conditions can lead to conflicts between NPV and IRR: ______ differences (earlier cash flows in one project vs. later cash flows in the other project) and project size (the cost of one project is larger than the other). When mutually exclusive projects are considered, then the _____method should be used to evaluate projects. Quantitative Problem: Bellinger Industries is considering two projects for inclusion in its capital budget, and you have been asked to do the analysis. Both projects' after-tax cash flows are shown on the time line below. Depreciation, salvage values, net operating working capital requirements, and tax effects are all included in these cash flows. Both projects have 4-year lives, and they have risk characteristics similar to the firm's average project. Bellinger's WACC is 10%.

	0		1		2		3		4
Project A	-1,200		630		330		290		350
Project B	-1,200		230		265		440		800

What is Project As IRR? Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer to two decimal places. ______%

What is Project B's IRR? Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer to two decimal places. ______%

If the projects were independent, which project(s) would be accepted according to the IRR method? __________ If the projects were mutually exclusive, which project(s) would be accepted according to the IRR method? __________ Could there be a conflict with project acceptance between the NPV and IRR approaches when projects are mutually exclusive? __________ The reason is (pick one or two)

1. the NPV and IRR approaches use the same reinvestment rate assumption so both approaches reach the same project acceptance when mutually projects are considered.

2. The NPV and IRR approaches use different reinvestment rate assumptions so there can be a conflict in project acceptance when mutually exclusive projects are considered. Reinvestment at the ________ is the superior assumption, so when mutually exclusive projects are evaluated the __________ approach should be used for the capital budgeting decision.