A firm believes it can generate an additional $1,800,000 per year in revenues for the next 5 years (years 1-5) and $2,200,000 for the next 5 years after that (years 6-10) if it replaces existing equipment that is no longer usable with new equipment that costs $4,600,000. The existing equipment has a book value of $40,000 and a market value of $10,000. The firm expects to be able to sell the new equipment when it is finished using it (after 10 years) for $100,000. The contribution margin is expected to be 52% of revenue for the entire 10 years. The additional sales will require an initial investment in net working capital of $140,000, which is expected to be recovered at the end of the project (after 10 years). Assume the firm uses straight-line depreciation, its marginal tax rate is 25%, and the discount rate for the project is 9%.
a) How much value will this new equipment create for the firm?
b) At what discount rate will this project break even?
c) Should the firm purchase the new equipment? Be sure to justify your recommendation.