Question
Organic Corn Company (OCC) is considering changing its production line to make gourmet canned corn at its factory in Utah. The equipment needed to change
Organic Corn Company (OCC) is considering changing its production line to make gourmet canned corn at its factory in Utah. The equipment needed to change the line would be high-speed and expensive to install, maintain, and operate, and was expected to last only three years. The equipment would be purchased for $600,000, payable right away, and, if installation goes ahead, OCC would also have to hire an installation consultant for just the first year who asks to be paid $150,000 at the end of the first year of operation. The production line would be depreciated using the straight line method over three years to a book value of $0. The new line would allow OCC to raise prices for a case of corn to $80 dollars from the otherwise expected case price of $70 for the upcoming year. The CFO thinks if priced at $70 per case, without doing the new line, they would sell 60,000 cases. If they do the line, the higher case prices were assumed to affect demand by customers currently buying OCCs baseline corn product such that 1,000 cases of the expected 60,000 cases of projected sales will be lost, so they will sell only 59,000 cases. The remaining current customers will not mind paying the new price. Prices for years two and three would also be $80 a case and sales would remain at 59,000 cases per year for years two and three. Net working capital will need to be increased by $25,000 if they do the new production line. Operating costs would be 200,000 a year for each of the three years. OCC has bank debt of $1,000,000 at a 5% interest rate and its annual interest expense of $50,000 also would not change. OCCs tax rate is 20%. The equipment used in the production line would be physically worn out at the end of the third year of operation and have no net market value. If the required return for producing canned corn is 10% per year, should they do the new production line?
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