X-treme Vitamin Company is considering two investments, both of which cost $10,000. The cash flows are as follows:Year Project A Project B1 $12,000 $10,0002 8,000 6,0003 6,000 16,000a) Which of the two projects should be chosen based on the payback method?b) Which of the two projects should be chosen based on the net present value method? Assume a cost of capital of 10 percent.c) Should a firm normally have more confidence in answer a or answer b?

Payback period = Last year with negative cumulative cash flows + (Absolute value of last year's cumulative cash flow ÷ Cash flow of the following year's negative cumulative cash flow)

Or, Payback period = A + ( B ÷ C)

Project A Project B

Year Cash Flow Cumulative Cash Flow Cash Flow Cumulative Cash Flow

0 (A) -$10,000 -$10,000 (B) -$10,000 -$10,000 (B)

1 $12,000 (C) 2,000 $10,000(C) 0

2 8,000 10,000 6,000 6,000

3 6,000 16,000 16,000 22,000

Payback period for project A = 0 + ($10,000 ÷ 12,000) = 0 + 0.833 = 0.83 year

Payback period for project B = 0 + ($10,000 ÷ 10,000) = 0 + 1 = 1 year

X-treme Vitamin Company should choose project A because it can return the investment earlier than project B.

Requirement B

We can use excel to find the Net Present Value for both the projects with a cost of capital of 10%.

The following image shows the NPV for project A and B.

From the calculation of NPV, X-treme Vitamin Company should choose project B as that project yields more present cash flows.

Requirement C

A firm should generally have more confidence in answer b because money can produce more logical sense than a year. Yes, it is easy to understand how many years a company will need to get back its cash flow. Still, the present value of cash flows provides a more specific evaluation of how to utilize the initial investment.