You are a manager at Percolated Fibre, which is considering expanding its operations in synthetic fibre manufacturing. Your boss comes into your office, drops a consultant's report on your desk, and complains, "We owe these consultants million for this report, and I am not sure their analysis makes sense. Before we spend the million on new equipment needed for this project, look it over and give me your opinion." You open the report and find the following estimates (in millions of dollars):

	Project year
Earnings forecast	1	2	. . .	9	10
Sales revenue	25.000	25.000		25.000	25.000
Cost of goods sold	15.000	15.000		15.000	15.000
=Gross profit	10.000	10.000		10.000	10.000
General, sales and administrative expenses	1.376	1.376		1.376	1.376
Depreciation	1.720	1.720		1.720	1.720
=Net operating profit	6.904	6.904		6.904	6.904
Income tax	2.071	2.071		2.071	2.071
=Net profit	4.833	4.833		4.833	4.833

All of the estimates in the report seem correct. You note that the consultants used straight-line depreciation for the new equipment that will be purchased today (year 0), which is what the accounting department recommended. They also calculated the depreciation assuming no salvage value for the equipment, which is the company's assumption in this case. The report concludes that because the project will increase earnings by $4.833 million per year for ten years, the project is worth $48.33 million. You think back to your glory days in finance class and realise there is more work to be done!

First, you note that the consultants have not factored in the fact that the project will require $8.9 million in net working capital up front (year 0), which will be fully recovered in year 10. Next, you see they have attributed $1.376 million of selling, general and administrative expenses to the project, but you know that $0.688 million of this amount is overhead that will be incurred even if the project is not accepted. Finally, you know that accounting earnings are not the right thing to focus on!

a. Given the available information, what are the free cash flows in years 0 to 10 that should be used to evaluate the proposed project?

b. If the cost of capital for this project is 9%, what is your estimate of the value of the new project?

a. The free cash flow for year 0 is $ ................ million.(Round to three decimal places.)

The free cash flow for years 1 to 9 is $ ................ million.(Round to three decimal places.)

The free cash flow for year 10 is $ ................ million.(Round to three decimal places.)

b. If the cost of capital for this project is 9%, the value of project is $ ................ million.(Round to three decimal places.)

You (should/should not) accept the project. (Choose the best answer from the brackets.)