Boehm Corporation has had stable earnings growth of 8% a year for the past 10 years and in 2013 Boehm paid dividends of $2.6 million on net income of $9.8 million. However, in 2014 earnings are expected to jump to $12.6 million, and Boehm plans to invest $7.3 million in a plant expansion. This one-time unusual earnings growth won't be maintained, though, and after 2014 Boehm will return to
its previous 8% earnings growth rate. Its target debt ratio is 35%.
Calculate Boehm's total dividends for 2014 under each of the following policies:
1. Its 2014 dividend payment is set to force dividends to grow at the long-run growth rate in earnings.
2. It continues the 2013 dividend payout ratio.
3. It uses a pure residual policy with all distributions in the form of dividends (35% of the $7.3 million investment is financed with debt).
4. It employs a regular-dividend-plus-extras policy, with the regular dividend being based on the long-run growth rate and the extra
dividend being set according to the residual policy.
Use the following information for Questions 5 and 6:
Schweser Satellites Inc. produces satellite earth stations that sell for $100,000 each. The firm's fixed costs, F, are $2 million, 50 earth stations are produced and sold each year, profits total $500,000, and the firm's assets (all equity financed) are $5 million. The firm estimates that it can change its production process, adding $4 million to investment and $500,000 to fixed operating costs. This change will (1) reduce variable costs per unit by $10,000 and (2) increase output by 20 units, but (3) the sales price on all units will have to be lowered to $95,000 to permit sales of the additional output. The firm has tax loss
carryforwards that render its tax rate zero, its cost of equity is 16%, and it uses no debt.
5. What is the incremental profit? To get a rough idea of the project's profitability, what is the project's expected rate of return for the next year (defined as the incremental profit divided by the investment)? Should the firm make the investment? Why or why not?
6. Would the firm's break-even point increase or decrease if it made the change?
Use the following information for Questions 7 and 8:
Suppose you are provided the following balance sheet information for two firms, Firm A and Firm B (in thousands of dollars).
Firm A
Firm B
Current assets
$150,000
$120,000
Fixed assets (net)
150,000
180,000
Total assets
$300,000
$300,000
Current liabilities
$20,000
$80,000
Long-term debt
80,000
20,000
Common stock
100,000
100,000
Retained earnings
100,000
100,000
Total liabilities and equity
$300,000
$300,000
Earnings before interest and taxes for both firms are $30 million, and the effective federal
plus-state tax rate is 35%.
7. What is the return on equity for each firm if the interest rate on current liabilities is12% and the rate on long-term debt is 15%?
8. Assume that the short-term rate rises to 20%, that the rate on new long-term debt rises to 16%, and that the rate on existing
long-term debt remains unchanged. What would be the return on equity for Firm A and Firm B under these conditions?
9. In 1983 the Japanese yen-U.S. dollar exchange rate was 250 yen per dollar, and the dollar cost of a compact Japanese-manufactured car was $10,000. Suppose that now the exchange rate is 120 yen per dollar. Assume there has been no inflation in the yen cost of an automobile so that all price changes are due to exchange rate changes. What would the dollar price of the car be now, assuming the car's price changes only with exchange rates?