"...automated test suite saved the client 117 days of manual effort per testing cycle."

Sure, it takes more time to construct any given feature with unit tests versus a completely untested solution. However, any time you need to change the code, add a feature, or change something it interacts with, you are saving an incredible amount of time both in testing and the prevention of bugs discovered in production.

I really don't understand how, in the long run, automated testing can't save you time. If you don't think so, you obviously haven't maintained any software.