COGECO : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2024, COGECO achieves revenue of 4.7 M€. Over the period 2016-2024, the company shows strong growth with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of +14.3%. Vs 2023, growth of +168% (1.7 M€ -> 4.7 M€). After deducting consumption (316 k€), gross margin stands at 4.4 M€, i.e. a rate of 93%. This ratio measures the ability to generate value from commercial activity. EBITDA (= Gross margin - Personnel expenses - Taxes) reaches 1.5 M€, representing 31.9% of revenue. Positive scissor effect: EBITDA margin improves by +51.6 pts, sign of improved operational efficiency. This high EBITDA margin provides strong self-financing capacity and resilience to uncertainties. Ultimately, net income (= EBIT +/- financial result +/- exceptional - corporate tax) amounts to 2.0 M€, i.e. 42.3% of revenue. This profit can be retained or distributed to shareholders.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 34%. Debt remains under control: the company retains capacity to raise new debt if needed. Financial autonomy (= Equity / Total assets x 100) reaches 66%. 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 2.1 years of cash flow to repay all financial debt. This short period demonstrates excellent debt sustainability. Cash flow represents 37.8% of revenue. Cash flow measures resources generated by operations, available for investment and debt repayment. This high level provides strong self-financing capacity.

The liquidity ratio (= Current assets / Current liabilities) stands at 658.36. 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 40.2x. 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: 173 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 97 days. The gap of 76 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 16 days (= Average inventory / Cost of goods x 360). Fast turnover, sign of good inventory management. Overall, WCR represents 822 days of revenue, i.e. 10.7 M€ to permanently finance. Over 2016-2024, WCR increased by +317%, requiring additional financing.

Based on 173 transactions of similar company sales (all years), the value of COGECO is estimated at 4 507 427 € (range 1 420 214€ - 9 973 402€). With an EBITDA of 1 496 362€, the sector multiple of 3.4x 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.