Gaston Company is considering a capital budgeting project that would require a $2,500,000 investment in equipment with a useful life of five years and no salvage value. The companys tax rate is 30% and its after-tax cost of capital is 12%. It uses the straight-line depreciation method for financial reporting and tax purposes. The project would provide net operating income each year for five years as follows:

Sales				$	3,500,000
Variable expenses					1,960,000
Contribution margin					1,540,000
Fixed expenses:
Advertising, salaries, and other fixed out-of-pocket costs	$	620,000
Depreciation		500,000
Total fixed expenses					1,120,000
Net operating income				$	420,000

Required:

Compute the projects net present value. (Use Microsoft Excel to calculate present values, and do not round intermediate calculations. Enter cash outflows as negative numbers.)