CHESNAY DIFFUSION : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2023, CHESNAY DIFFUSION achieves revenue of 1.4 M€. Activity remains stable over the period (CAGR: -1.7%). Vs 2022: +0%. After deducting consumption (925 k€), gross margin stands at 502 k€, i.e. a rate of 35%. This ratio measures the ability to generate value from commercial activity. EBITDA (= Gross margin - Personnel expenses - Taxes) reaches 173 k€, representing 12.2% of revenue. Warning negative scissor effect: despite revenue change (+0%), EBITDA varies by -18%, reducing margin by 2.6 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 92 k€, i.e. 6.4% of revenue. This profit can be retained or distributed to shareholders.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 9%. 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 82%. 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 0.8 years of cash flow to repay all financial debt. This short period demonstrates excellent debt sustainability. Cash flow represents 9.6% 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 725.25. 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 4.0x. Financial charges are adequately covered by operations.

Working capital requirement (WCR) measures the cash timing gap between customer collections and supplier/inventory payments. Average customer payment term: 11 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 25 days. Favorable situation: supplier credit is longer than customer credit by 14 days. Inventory turnover is 121 days (= Average inventory / Cost of goods x 360). This high level ties up cash and potentially creates obsolescence risk. Overall, WCR represents 127 days of revenue, i.e. 502 k€ to permanently finance. Over 2016-2023, WCR increased by +29%, requiring additional financing.

Based on 64 transactions of similar company sales (all years), the value of CHESNAY DIFFUSION is estimated at 401 269 € (range 226 733€ - 1 442 341€). With an EBITDA of 173 364€, the sector multiple of 2.4x is applied. The price/revenue ratio is 0.38x (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.
Medium reliability: estimate to be confirmed with in-depth analysis.