Problem:
Deer Valley Lodge, a ski resort, has plans to eventually add five new chairlifts. Suppose that one lift costs $2 million, and preparing the slope and installing the lift costs another $1.3 million. The lift will allow 300 additional skiers on the slopes, but there are only 40 days a year when the extra capacity will be needed. (Assume that Deer park will sell all 300 lift tickets on those 40 days). Running the new lift will cost $500 a day for the entire 200 days the lodge is open. Assume that the lift tickets at Deer Valley cost $55 a day and the added cash expenses for each skier-day are $5. The new lift has an economic life of 20 years.
Assume that the before-tax required rate of return for Deer Valley is 14%. Compute the before-tax NPV of the new lift and advise the managers of Deer Valley about whether adding the lift will be profitable investment.