Average Rate of Return Method, Net Present Value Method, and Analysis for a service company

The capital investment committee of Arches Landscaping Company is considering two capital investments. The estimated operating income and net cash flows from each investment are as follows:

	Front-End Loader					Greenhouse
Year	Operating Income		Net Cash Flow			Operating Income		Net Cash Flow
1	$40,000		$128,000			$84,000		$205,000
2	40,000		128,000			64,000		173,000
3	40,000		128,000			32,000		122,000
4	40,000		128,000			14,000		83,000
5	40,000		128,000			6,000		57,000
Total	$200,000		$640,000			$200,000		$640,000

Each project requires an investment of $400,000. 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 answer to one decimal place.

	Average Rate of Return
Front-End Loader	fill in the blank 1%
Greenhouse	fill in the blank 2%

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

	Front-End Loader	Greenhouse
Present value of net cash flow	$fill in the blank 3	$fill in the blank 4
Amount to be invested	fill in the blank 5	fill in the blank 6
Net present value	$fill in the blank 7	$fill in the blank 8

2. Prepare a brief report for the capital investment committee, advising it on the relative merits of the two investments.

The front-end loader has a net present value because cash flows occur in time compared to the greenhouse. Thus, if only one of the two projects can be accepted, the would be the more attractive.