Get Active in Our Amazing Community of Over 451,000 Peers!

Schedule mock interviews on the Meeting Board, join the latest community discussions in our Consulting Q&A and find like-minded Case Partners to connect and practice with!

NPV calculation error?

Case Maths
New answer on Aug 02, 2021
3 Answers
1.1 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Aug 01, 2021

If you are a zoo and you buy a new animal that is going to increase your current revenues (4.5M) by 8% (so as additional 360K)..when you do NPv, shouldn't the Net Op profit be New Revenues (I.e 4.5M+360K) - new costs? But the answer shows NPV calculation as (360K (I.e the additional revenue) - new costs)/discount rate - investment cost..why are they calculating new profit using just the additional revenue of 360K instead of 4.5M+360K? Is this correct?

(edited)

Overview of answers

Upvotes
  • Upvotes
  • Date ascending
  • Date descending
Best answer
Agrim
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Aug 02, 2021
BCG Dubai Project Leader | Learn to think like a Consultant | Free personalised prep plan | 6+ years in Consulting

NPV is calculated for 'a' project. In this case that project is 'buying an animal for the zoo'.

Hence, you will consider the elements relevant for the project only:

  • Revenue from the project --> Additional revenue (360k)
  • Running costs of the project ---> Additional new costs
  • Initial costs of the project --> cost of acquiring the animal
  • Profit from the project --> additional revenue minus additional running costs

Hope this explains.

Was this answer helpful?
Ian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Aug 02, 2021
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

This is not a case error at all!

The entire point of NPV is to evaluate the decision to buy the animal.

The zoo already makes $4.5M...the animal has no impact on this!

You can only measure the impact of the animal which is $360k....this is recurring revenue and so you apply NPV to understand what that $ amount is in today's dollars, so as to determine whether the upfront investment is worth it!

Was this answer helpful?
Anonymous replied on Aug 02, 2021

Your are eveluating a project so you should calculate the NPV of the project not of the overall company. The correct approach is always to use differntial cost, revenues and investments versus the status quo

Was this answer helpful?
3
Agrim gave the best answer

Agrim

Premium + Coaching Expert
Content Creator
BCG Dubai Project Leader | Learn to think like a Consultant | Free personalised prep plan | 6+ years in Consulting
270
Meetings
4,216
Q&A Upvotes
68
Awards
5.0
59 Reviews