Example of a Future Project

For example, consider a four-month future project that has forecast benefits and costs as shown in Example of a Future Project and an annual discount rate of 6%, equivalent to a monthly rate of 0.5% or .005.

Table A-1. Example of NPV calculation

Month

Forecast Benefit

Forecast Cost

Forecast Benefit – Forecast Cost (Forecast Nominal Return)

May 2012

$100,000

$90,000

$10,000

June 2012

$120,000

$90,000

$30,000

July 2012

$140,000

$40,000

$100,000

August 2012

$140,000

$5,000

$135,000

As of March 2012, two months before the project starts, the total NPV is the sum of the following amounts (rounding off to the nearest dollar):

  • $10,000 / (1.005) 2 = $9,901 for May

  • $30,000 / (1.005) 3 = $29,554 for June

  • $100,000 / (1.005) 4 = $98,025 for July

  • $135,000 / (1.005) 5 = $131,675 for August

For this example, the total NPV is $269,155.

The total forecast nominal return for the four project months is $275,000.