The short-line railroad is considering a $100,000 investment in either of two companies. the cash flows are as follows: year electric co. water works 1 $ 70,000 $ 15,000 2 15,000 15,000 3 15,000 70,000 4 – 10 10,000 10,000 a. compute the payback period for both companies. (round your answers to 1 decimal place.) b. which of the investments is superior from the information provided? electric co. water works

a. 3 years and 3 years

b. either company can be selected

Explanation:

a. In the payback, we analyze how many years the invested amount is recovered. The computation is shown below:

= Initial investment ÷ Net cash flow

For Electric Co.

In year 0 = $100,000

In year 1 = $70,000

In year 2 = $15,000

In year 3 = $15,000

In year 4 to 10 = $10,000

If we sum the first 3 year cash inflows than it would be $100,000 which is equal to the initial investment

So, the payback period equal to

= $100,000 ÷ $100,000 = 3 years

In 3 years, the invested amount is recovered.

For Water Works

In year 0 = $100,000

In year 1 = $15,000

In year 2 = $15,000

In year 3 = $70,000

In year 4 to 10 = $10,000

If we sum the first 3 year cash inflows than it would be $100,000 which is equal to the initial investment

So, the payback period equal to

= $100,000 ÷ $100,000 = 3 years

In 3 years, the invested amount is recovered.

b. Since both the companies has same payback period so either company can be selected