GARAGE DE LA POSTE : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2016, GARAGE DE LA POSTE achieves revenue of 917 k€. After deducting consumption (486 k€), gross margin stands at 431 k€, i.e. a rate of 47%. This ratio measures the ability to generate value from commercial activity. EBITDA (= Gross margin - Personnel expenses - Taxes) reaches 20 k€, representing 2.2% of revenue. The operating margin remains fragile, requiring cost vigilance. Net income is negative at -27 k€ (-2.9% of revenue), which will impact equity.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 2%. This very low level reflects a solid financial structure, offering significant room for future investments or acquisitions. Financial autonomy (= Equity / Total assets x 100) reaches 87%. This high autonomy means the company finances most of its assets through equity, a sign of strength. Debt repayment capacity (= Financial debt / Cash flow) indicates it would take 0.5 years of cash flow to repay all financial debt. This short period demonstrates excellent debt sustainability. Cash flow represents 2.2% of revenue. Cash flow measures resources generated by operations, available for investment and debt repayment.

The liquidity ratio (= Current assets / Current liabilities) stands at 767.50. Concretely, the company has €2 of liquid assets for every €1 of short-term debt: no cash risk within 12 months. The interest coverage ratio (= EBIT / Interest expenses) is 9.4x. Operating income very largely covers interest expenses: high safety margin.

Working capital requirement (WCR) measures the cash timing gap between customer collections and supplier/inventory payments. Average customer payment term: 92 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 23 days. The gap of 69 days means the company finances its customers for over a month before being paid relative to supplier payments. This weighs on cash flow. Inventory turnover is 96 days (= Average inventory / Cost of goods x 360). This high level ties up cash and potentially creates obsolescence risk. Overall, WCR represents 159 days of revenue, i.e. 405 k€ to permanently finance.

Based on 1152 transactions of similar company sales (all years), the value of GARAGE DE LA POSTE is estimated at 63 734 € (range 33 052€ - 164 564€). With an EBITDA of 20 416€, the sector multiple of 1.4x is applied. The price/revenue ratio is 0.14x (conservative valuation). This multiples method compares the actual sale price of similar companies to their financial indicators (Revenue, EBITDA, Net Income). It provides a market-based indicative estimate.