CHAPLAIN : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2024, CHAPLAIN achieves revenue of 18.3 M€. Revenue is growing positively over 8 years (CAGR: +0.5%). Slight decline of -8% vs 2023. After deducting consumption (5.0 M€), gross margin stands at 13.3 M€, i.e. a rate of 73%. This ratio measures the ability to generate value from commercial activity. EBITDA (= Gross margin - Personnel expenses - Taxes) reaches 297 k€, representing 1.6% of revenue. Warning negative scissor effect: despite revenue change (-8%), EBITDA varies by -59%, reducing margin by 2.0 pts. This reflects costs rising faster than revenue. The operating margin remains fragile, requiring cost vigilance. Ultimately, net income (= EBIT +/- financial result +/- exceptional - corporate tax) amounts to 713 k€, i.e. 3.9% of revenue. This profit can be retained or distributed to shareholders.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 53%. Debt remains under control: the company retains capacity to raise new debt if needed. Financial autonomy (= Equity / Total assets x 100) reaches 46%. 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 4.4 years of cash flow to repay all financial debt. This ratio remains within usual banking standards. Cash flow represents 4.0% of revenue. Cash flow measures resources generated by operations, available for investment and debt repayment.

The liquidity ratio (= Current assets / Current liabilities) stands at 209.05. 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 24.2x. 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: 76 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 51 days. The company must finance 25 days of gap between collections and payments. Inventory turnover is 24 days (= Average inventory / Cost of goods x 360). Fast turnover, sign of good inventory management. Overall, WCR represents 77 days of revenue, i.e. 3.9 M€ to permanently finance.

Based on 104 transactions of similar company sales (all years), the value of CHAPLAIN is estimated at 1 811 007 € (range 1 012 868€ - 4 903 026€). With an EBITDA of 297 370€, the sector multiple of 1.0x is applied. The price/revenue ratio is 0.27x (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.