The following information is available for B&E Construction Ltd

The following information is available for B&E Construction Ltd.’s capital structure:

Equity Financing: 65% by ordinary shares, of which the company management plans to pay a $7.25 dividend per share in the next financial year. The firm is maintaining a 5.5 % annual growth rate in dividends, which is expected to continue indefinitely.

Debt Financing: 35% by corporate bonds that pay semi-annually 11.5% coupon rate with an annual before-tax yield to maturity of 10.25%. The bond issue has a face value of $1,000 and will mature in 35 years.

The net income of B&E Construction Ltd. in the current financial year is $1,540,760, and the company is considering investing in one of the two following projects to buy new machinery. Each option will last five years and have no salvage value at the end. The company’s required rate of return for all investment projects is 9.5 %. The cash flows of the projects are provided below.

Required: Complete the following tasks:

1. Identify which option of machinery should the company accept based on Discounted Payback Period method if the company requires a payback of maximum of 3 years for all investment projects. (2 marks)

2. Which investment criterion should the company’s finance manager recommend for the capital budgeting decision making if the company management would like to know a break-even rate of return of those options? (1 mark)

3. How much dividend B&E Construction Ltd. can pay its shareholders from the current year net profit given the chosen project you decided in question (c) and if the Residual Dividend Payout Policy applies? (1 mark)