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Average Rate of Return

Average rate of return (ARR) is a way of measuring how good an investment project is for a business.

Average rate of return

Average rate of return

  • It is calculated by working out the average profit the firm makes from the project per year as a percentage of the initial investment.
  • The higher the ARR is, the better a project is for a business. This is because they are making a higher proportion of their investment back each year.
Average rate of return

Average rate of return

  • If a firm invests £100,000 in new machinery which lowers its costs by £20,000 per year for 10 years.
  • Total net profit (for all 10 years) = 20,000 x 10 – 100,000 = £100,000.
  • Project length = 10 years.
  • Average profit made each year = 100,000/10 = 10,000.
  • Then simply divide this by initial investment to calculate it as a %.
  • ARR (%) = 10,000/100,000 x 100 = 10%.
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