Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR)

What Is the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BRC)?

The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is a ratio utilized in a cost-benefit analysis to sum up the overall relationship between the relative costs and benefits of a proposed project. BCR can be communicated in monetary or qualitative terms. In the event that a project has a BCR greater than 1.0, the project is expected to deliver a positive net present value to a firm and its investors.

How the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) Works

Benefit-cost ratios (BCRs) are most frequently utilized in capital budgeting to break down the overall value for money of undertaking another project. Notwithstanding, the cost-benefit examinations for large projects can be difficult to get right, since there are such countless presumptions and vulnerabilities that are difficult to evaluate. For this reason there is typically an extensive variety of potential BCR results.

The BCR likewise gives no feeling of how much economic value will be made, thus the BCR is generally used to find out about the feasibility of a project and how much the internal rate of return (IRR) surpasses the discount rate, which is the company's weighted-normal cost of capital (WACC) - the opportunity cost of that capital.

The BCR is calculated by partitioning the proposed total cash benefit of a project by the proposed total cash cost of the project. Prior to partitioning the numbers, the net present value of the particular cash flows over the proposed lifetime of the project - considering the terminal values, including rescue/remediation costs - are calculated.

What Does the BCR Tell You?

On the off chance that a project has a BCR that is greater than 1.0, the project is expected to deliver a positive net present value (NPV) and will have an internal rate of return (IRR) over the discount rate utilized in the DCF computations. This proposes that the NPV of the project's cash flows offsets the NPV of the costs, and the project ought to be thought of.

Assuming the BCR is equivalent to 1.0, the ratio shows that the NPV of expected profits equals the costs. In the event that a project's BCR is under 1.0, the project's costs offset the benefits, and it ought not be thought of.

Illustration of How to Use the BCR

For instance, expect company ABC wishes to evaluate the profitability of a project that includes revamping a high rise throughout the next year. The company chooses to lease the equipment required for the project for $50,000 as opposed to purchasing it. The inflation rate is 2%, and the renovations are expected to increase the company's annual profit by $100,000 for the next three years.

The NPV of the total cost of the lease needn't bother with to be discounted, on the grounds that the initial cost of $50,000 is paid front and center. The NPV of the projected benefits is $288,388, or ($100,000/(1 + 0.02)^1) + ($100,000/(1 + 0.02)^2) + ($100,00/(1 + 0.02)^3). Thusly, the BCR is 5.77, or $288,388 separated by $50,000.

In this model, our company has a BCR of 5.77, which shows that the project's estimated benefits essentially offset its costs. Additionally, company ABC could expect $5.77 in benefits for each $1 of costs.

Limitations of the BCR

The primary limitation of the BCR is that it decreases a project to a simple number when the achievement or disappointment of an investment or expansion depends on many factors and can be subverted by unanticipated occasions. Just keeping a guideline that above 1.0 means achievement and below 1.0 spells disappointment is deceiving and can furnish a false feeling of comfort with a project. The BCR must be utilized as a device related to different types of analysis to settle on a very much educated choice.

Features

• The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is an indicator showing the relationship between the relative costs and benefits of a proposed project, communicated in monetary or qualitative terms.
• In the event that a project has a BCR greater than 1.0, the project is expected to deliver a positive net present value to a firm and its investors.
• In the event that a project's BCR is under 1.0, the project's costs offset the benefits, and it ought not be thought of.

FAQ

What Is the Benefit-Cost Ratio (BRC) Used for?

The BRC is utilized in cost-benefit analysis to depict the association between the costs and benefits of an expected project.

What Does a Benefit-Cost-Ratio Over 1.0 Suggest?

A perusing 1.0 proposes that on a broad level, a project ought to be monetarily effective; a perusing of 1.0 recommends that the benefits equivalent the costs; and a perusing below 1.0 recommends that the costs trump the benefits.

How Do You Calculate the Benefit-Cost-Ratio?

The Benefit-Cost still up in the air by partitioning the proposed total cash benefit of a project by the proposed total cash cost of the project.