Corporate Finance: cram pack

Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 10 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.

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1Formulas and methods

Time value of money

Future value
FV = PV·(1 + i)n
Present value
PV = FV/(1 + i)n
Several periods per year
i = r/m, N = m·n
Annuity, present value
PV = PMT·[1 − (1 + i)−n]/i
Annuity, future value
FV = PMT·[(1 + i)n − 1]/i

Method

  1. Draw a timeline with every cash flow and its timing.
  2. Match the rate to the period: a monthly rate for monthly payments.
  3. Use FV = PV·(1 + i)ⁿ for single amounts and the annuity formulas for equal payments.
  4. Check the sign and the order of magnitude of the answer.

NPV & IRR

Net present value
NPV = −C0 + Σ CFt/(1 + r)t
Equal cash flows
NPV = −C0 + CF·[1 − (1 + r)−n]/r
Internal rate of return
the r at which NPV = 0
Decision
accept when NPV > 0 (or IRR > required return)

Method

  1. List all cash flows with their year; the investment at year 0 is negative.
  2. Discount each cash flow: CFt/(1 + r)t.
  3. Add them up to get the NPV. Positive means the project earns more than r.
  4. For the IRR, find the rate that makes NPV zero by trial or interpolation.

Bond pricing & yield

Bond price
P = C·(1 − (1 + y)−n)/y + F/(1 + y)n
Semi-annual
C/2, y/2 and 2n periods
Current yield
C/P
Price and yield
yield up → price down

Method

  1. Find the coupon per period and the yield per period.
  2. Price = present value of the coupons (an annuity) + present value of the face value.
  3. For semi-annual coupons use half the coupon, half the yield and twice the periods.
  4. Check: if the yield is above the coupon rate, the price is below face value.

CAPM & WACC

CAPM
re = rf + β·(rm − rf)
WACC
E/V·re + D/V·rd·(1 − T)
Firm value
V = E + D

Break-even analysis

Contribution margin
CM = p − v
Break-even quantity
QBE = FC/(p − v)
Target profit
Q = (FC + profit)/(p − v)
Profit
π = (p − v)·Q − FC
Margin of safety
(Q − QBE)/Q

2Practice problems

1.Time value of moneyMedium
years0123…9PV = ?€2 000+1%+1%…r = 5%

A property is expected to earn net rent of €2 000 next year. The rent is expected to grow by 1% per year forever. The required return is 5% per year. Find the value PV of the property today.

C1 = €2 000g = 1%r = 5%
PV = €
2.Time value of moneyHard
months01…240…300€150 000AB = ?A4.2% / 12

A mortgage of €150 000 is repaid with equal monthly payments over 25 years at 4.2% per year, compounded monthly. How much is still owed just after the payment at the end of year 20? Find the outstanding balance B.

P = €150 0004.2% / 12N = 300k = 240
B = €
3.NPV & IRRMedium
years01234−30 00014 00010 0008 00012 000

An investment of €30 000 gives these cash flows at the end of years 1 to 4: €14 000, €10 000, €8 000, €12 000. The cost of capital is 15%. Find the net present value NPV.

r = 15%CF0 = −30 000CF1 = 14 000CF2 = 10 000CF3 = 8 000CF4 = 12 000
NPV = €
4.NPV & IRRHard
years0123−10 0004 5005 5004 500

A project costs €10 000 and returns €4 500, €5 500, €4 500 at the end of years 1 to 3. Find its internal rate of return IRR in percent.

CF0 = −10 000CF1 = 4 500CF2 = 5 500CF3 = 4 500
IRR = %
5.Bond pricing & yieldMedium
years01234P€45€45€45 + €1 000

A bond with a face value of €1 000 pays an annual coupon of 4.5% and matures in 4 years. Its yield to maturity changes from 8% to 6.5%. By how much ΔP does the bond price change?

F = €1 000coupon = 4.5%n = 4y1 = 8%y2 = 6.5%
ΔP = €
6.Bond pricing & yieldHard

A bond trades at €1 045 with a yield to maturity of 3% (annual compounding) and a Macaulay duration of 6.7 years. Use the modified duration to estimate the new price P if the yield falls by 50 basis points.

P0 = €1 045y = 3%D = 6.7Δy = −50 bp
P = €
7.CAPM & WACCMedium
WACC = ?equity€8 000 000re​ = 11%debt€3 000 000rd​ = 5%T = 28%

A company has equity worth €8 000 000 and debt worth €3 000 000. Its cost of equity is 11%, its pre-tax cost of debt is 5% and the tax rate is 28%. Find the WACC.

E = €8 000 000D = €3 000 000re = 11%rd = 5%T = 28%
WACC = %
8.CAPM & WACCHard
rf​ = 1.5%, rm​ − rf​ = 6%D/E = 0.25equityβL​ = 0.9debtD/E = 0.75equityre​ = ?debtT = 21%

A company's shares have a beta of 0.9 at its current debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. It plans to raise its debt-to-equity ratio to 0.75. The tax rate is 21%, the risk-free rate 1.5% and the market risk premium 6%. Find the cost of equity re after the change.

βL = 0.9D/E1 = 0.25D/E2 = 0.75T = 21%rf = 1.5%rm − rf = 6%
re = %
9.Break-even analysisMedium
Q€revenuetotal costfixed costQ = ?

A product sells for €17 with a variable cost of €12 per unit. Fixed costs are €6 000 per month and profit is taxed at 20%. How many units Q must be sold per month to earn €2 500 after tax?

p = €17v = €12F = €6 000T = 20%after-tax profit = €2 500
Q = units
10.Break-even analysisHard
Q€revenuetotal costfixed cost1 000−8%%ΔΠ = ?

A company sells 1 000 units at €33 each, with a variable cost of €30 per unit and fixed costs of €1 500. By what percentage %ΔΠ does operating profit change if sales volume falls by 8%?

Q = 1 000p = €33v = €30F = €1 500%ΔQ = −8%
%ΔΠ = %

3Solutions

1.Time value of money

Answer: PV = 50000 €

Time value of money: money today is worth more than the same amount later, because it can earn interest. With interest rate i per period, an amount grows as FV = PV·(1 + i)n. A series of equal payments (an annuity) is valued by adding up each payment, which gives the annuity formulas.

Growing perpetuity

PV = C1/(r − g) = 2 000/(0.05 − 0.01) = 2 000/0.04 = €50 000.00

Answer

PV = €50 000.00
2.Time value of money

Answer: B = 43682 €

Time value of money: money today is worth more than the same amount later, because it can earn interest. With interest rate i per period, an amount grows as FV = PV·(1 + i)n. A series of equal payments (an annuity) is valued by adding up each payment, which gives the annuity formulas.

Monthly payment

i = 0.0035, N = 300
A = 150 000·0.0035/(1 − (1 + 0.0035)−300) = €808.41

Present value of the remaining payments

Whatever is still owed must be exactly paid off by the remaining payments.

N − k = 300 − 240 = 60
B = 808.4·(1 − (1 + 0.0035)−60)/0.0035 = €43 681.70

Answer

B = €43 681.70
3.NPV & IRR

Answer: NPV = 1857 €

Net present value: discount every cash flow back to today with the required rate of return r, then add them up: NPV = Σ CFₜ/(1 + r)ᵗ. A project with NPV > 0 earns more than r and adds value. The internal rate of return (IRR) is the rate at which NPV = 0.

Present value of each cash flow

CF0 = −30 000
CF1/(1 + 0.15)1 = 14 000/1.15 = 12 173.91
CF2/(1 + 0.15)2 = 10 000/1.322 = 7 561.44
CF3/(1 + 0.15)3 = 8 000/1.521 = 5 260.13
CF4/(1 + 0.15)4 = 12 000/1.749 = 6 861.04

Add them up

NPV = €1 856.52

Answer

NPV = €1 856.52

NPV is positive, so the project earns more than the required return.

4.NPV & IRR

Answer: IRR = 21.1 %

Net present value: discount every cash flow back to today with the required rate of return r, then add them up: NPV = Σ CFₜ/(1 + r)ᵗ. A project with NPV > 0 earns more than r and adds value. The internal rate of return (IRR) is the rate at which NPV = 0.

Bracket the IRR

NPV falls as the rate rises, so the IRR lies between a rate with positive NPV and one with negative NPV.

NPV(20%) = 173.61
NPV(25%) = −576.00

Narrow down

Linear interpolation gives a first estimate; repeating it (or a calculator's IRR function) gives the exact rate.

IRR ≈ 20 + 5·173.61/(173.61 − (−576.00)) = 21.16%
exact: NPV(21.1%) = 0 → IRR = 21.1%

Answer

IRR = 21.1%
5.Bond pricing & yield

Answer: ΔP = 47.41 €

Bond pricing: a bond’s price is the present value of its cash flows, discounted at the yield to maturity (YTM): the coupons form an annuity and the face value is paid back at maturity. P = C·(1 − (1 + y)⁻ⁿ)/y + F/(1 + y)ⁿ. When the yield is above the coupon rate the bond trades below face value, and the other way round.

Price at the old yield

C = €45.00, i = 0.08, N = 4
€45.00·(1 − 0.735)/0.08 + €1 000·0.735 = €149.05 + €735.03 = €884.08

Price at the new yield

C = €45.00, i = 0.065, N = 4
€45.00·(1 − 0.7773)/0.065 + €1 000·0.7773 = €154.16 + €777.32 = €931.48

Change

ΔP = 931.48 − 884.08 = €47.41

Answer

ΔP = €47.41
6.Bond pricing & yield

Answer: P = 1079 €

Duration: the Macaulay duration is the weighted average time at which a bond pays its cash flows, with the present values of the cash flows as weights: D = Σ t·PVₜ/P. The modified duration D/(1 + y) estimates the percentage price change for a small change in yield: %ΔP ≈ −Dmod·Δy.

Modified duration

Dmod = 6.7/1.03 = 6.505

Estimated price change

%ΔP ≈ −6.505·(−0.005) = 3.252%
P ≈ 1045·(1 + 0.03252) = €1 078.99

Answer

P = €1 078.99

Duration is a linear estimate; for large yield changes convexity makes the true price a little higher.

7.CAPM & WACC

Answer: WACC = 8.982 %

Cost of capital: CAPM gives the return shareholders require: re = rf + β·(rm − rf). The weighted average cost of capital mixes equity and debt by their market values: WACC = E/V·re + D/V·rd·(1 − T), with V = E + D. Interest is tax-deductible, hence the (1 − T).

Weights

V = €11 000 000, E/V = 0.7273, D/V = 0.2727

WACC

WACC = 0.7273·11% + 0.2727·5%·(1 − 0.28) = 8.982%

Answer

WACC = 8.982%
8.CAPM & WACC

Answer: re = 8.681 %

Levered beta (Hamada): debt makes equity riskier. βL = βU·(1 + (1 − T)·D/E), where βU is the beta of the business without debt. To move a beta to another capital structure, unlever it first and then relever it at the new D/E.

Unlever the beta

βU = 0.9/(1 + 0.79·0.25) = 0.7516

Relever at the new D/E

βL = 0.7516·(1 + 0.79·0.75) = 1.197

Cost of equity (CAPM)

re = 1.5% + 1.197·6% = 8.681%

Answer

re = 8.681%
9.Break-even analysis

Answer: Q = 1825 units

Cost-volume-profit: each unit sold earns a contribution margin, price minus variable cost per unit. Profit = Q·(p − v) − F, where F is the fixed cost. At the break-even point profit is zero, so Q = F/(p − v).

Pre-tax profit needed

2 500/(1 − 0.2) = €3 125

Units needed

Q = (6 000 + 3 125)/5 = 1 825

Answer

Q = 1 825 units
10.Break-even analysis

Answer: %ΔΠ = −16 %

Operating leverage: fixed costs make profit react more strongly than sales. The degree of operating leverage DOL = contribution margin/operating profit tells you that a 1% change in sales changes profit by DOL %. It is very high just above break-even and falls as sales grow.

Contribution margin and profit

CM = 1 000·3 = €3 000
Π = 3 000 − 1 500 = €1 500

DOL

DOL = 3 000/1 500 = 2

Change in profit

%ΔΠ = 2·(−8%) = −16%

Answer

%ΔΠ = −16%

Check: new profit = 920·3 − 1 500 = €1 260.00.

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