Lukow Products is investigating the purchase of a piece of automated equipment that will save $100,000 each year in direct labor and inventory carrying costs. This equipment costs $810,000 and is expected to have a 6-year useful life with no salvage value. The companys required rate of return is 7% on all equipment purchases. Management anticipates that this equipment will provide intangible benefits such as greater flexibility and higher-quality output that will result in additional future cash inflows.

Click here to view Exhibit 12B-1 and Exhibit 12B-2, to determine the appropriate discount factor(s) using table. (Use the tables to get your discount factors. The linked tables are the same tables as the ones in your course packet. If you calculate discount factors using Excel or a financial calculator, your answer may be different enough due to rounding that the system marks it wrong.)

Required:

1. What is the net present value of the piece of equipment before considering its intangible benefits? (Enter negative amount with a minus sign. Round your final answer to the nearest whole dollar amount.)

2. What minimum dollar value per year must be provided by the equipments intangible benefits to justify the $810,000 investment? (Hint: This is asking for the dollar value of intangible benefits that they would have to get each year to make the investment break even in present value terms, i.e., the dollar value that would make the NPV zero.) (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round