
Engineering Economics 735
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The NPV measures the direct incentive to invest in a given proposal
as a bonus or premium over the amount an investor could otherwise
earn by investing the same money in a safe alternative, which would
yield a return calculated at the rate, i. The resulting NPV from a project's
cash flow is a measure of the cash profit that the project will produce
after recovering the initial investment and meeting all costs, including
the cost of capital. The more positive the NPV is, the more attractive the
proposition. If NPV is 0, the viability of the project is marginal; if it is
negative, the proposal is unattractive.
Discounted Cash Flow Rate of Return (DCFRR)
The discounted cash flow rate of return is known by other terms, for
example, the profitability index, the true rate of return, the investor's
rate of return, and the internal rate of return. It is defined as the discount
rate, i, which makes the NPV of a project equal to zero. This can be
expressed mathematically by
Ct
NVP - Z p
- )t
t:O
(1
+:t
= 0 (9-14)
The main advantage of DCFRR over NPV is that it is independent of
the zero or base year that is chosen. In contrast, the value of NPV varies
acccording to the zero year chosen. In calculating the NPV, the cost of
capital has to be explicitly included as i in the discounting calculations.
In computing the DCFRR, the cost of capital is not included. Instead
the value calculated for i is compared with the cost of capital to see
whether the project is profitable. The DCFRR for a project is the rate of
return on investment. It measures the efficiency of the capital and deter-
mines the earning power of the project investment. Therefore, a DCFRR
of say 20 percent implies that 20 percent per year will be earned on the
investment, in addition to which the project generates sufficient money
to repay the original investment plus any interest payable on borrowed
capital plus all taxes and expenses.
Net Return Rate (NRR)
The net return rate is analogous to the rate of return and is the net
average discounted "return" on the investment over and above the cost
of capital. This is defined by: