CHARLES WELLS (FRANCE) : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2024, CHARLES WELLS (FRANCE) achieves revenue of 16.0 M€. Over the period 2016-2024, the company shows strong growth with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of +7.2%. Vs 2023, growth of +12% (14.2 M€ -> 16.0 M€). After deducting consumption (4.4 M€), gross margin stands at 11.6 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 1.8 M€, representing 11.5% of revenue. Warning negative scissor effect: despite revenue change (+12%), EBITDA varies by -25%, reducing margin by 5.8 pts. This reflects costs rising faster than revenue. This level of operating margin is satisfactory for the sector. Ultimately, net income (= EBIT +/- financial result +/- exceptional - corporate tax) amounts to 679 k€, i.e. 4.2% of revenue. This profit can be retained or distributed to shareholders.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 268%. Critical situation: debt significantly exceeds equity, severely limiting borrowing capacity and exposing the company to default risk. Financial autonomy (= Equity / Total assets x 100) reaches 24%. The balance between equity and debt is satisfactory. Debt repayment capacity (= Financial debt / Cash flow) indicates it would take 8.9 years of cash flow to repay all financial debt. Beyond 7 years, banks generally consider credit risk as high. Cash flow represents 7.9% of revenue. Cash flow measures resources generated by operations, available for investment and debt repayment. Satisfactory level allowing partial financing of growth.

The liquidity ratio (= Current assets / Current liabilities) stands at 106.02. 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 14.2x. 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: 0 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 46 days. Excellent situation: suppliers finance 46 days of the operating cycle (retail model). Inventory turnover is 6 days (= Average inventory / Cost of goods x 360). Fast turnover, sign of good inventory management. Overall, WCR represents 20 days of revenue, i.e. 881 k€ to permanently finance. Over 2016-2024, WCR increased by +86%, requiring additional financing.

Based on 156 transactions of similar company sales in 2024, the value of CHARLES WELLS (FRANCE) is estimated at 11 644 579 € (range 7 621 904€ - 17 740 158€). With an EBITDA of 1 832 758€, the sector multiple of 7.1x is applied. The price/revenue ratio is 0.84x (in line with sector norms). 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.