CONFOLENS AUTOMOBILES : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2021, CONFOLENS AUTOMOBILES achieves revenue of 1.4 M€. Activity remains stable over the period (CAGR: -0.1%). Vs 2020: +8%. After deducting consumption (1.1 M€), gross margin stands at 387 k€, i.e. a rate of 27%. This ratio measures the ability to generate value from commercial activity. EBITDA (= Gross margin - Personnel expenses - Taxes) reaches 12 k€, representing 0.9% of revenue. Warning negative scissor effect: despite revenue change (+8%), EBITDA varies by -86%, reducing margin by 5.8 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 17 k€, i.e. 1.2% of revenue. This profit can be retained or distributed to shareholders.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 16%. 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 61%. 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 17.5 years of cash flow to repay all financial debt. Beyond 7 years, banks generally consider credit risk as high. Cash flow represents 0.5% of revenue. Cash flow measures resources generated by operations, available for investment and debt repayment.

The liquidity ratio (= Current assets / Current liabilities) stands at 317.10. 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 20.8x. 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: 79 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 33 days. The gap of 46 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 33 days (= Average inventory / Cost of goods x 360). Fast turnover, sign of good inventory management. Overall, WCR represents 216 days of revenue, i.e. 864 k€ to permanently finance. Over 2014-2021, WCR increased by +461%, requiring additional financing.

Based on 135 transactions of similar company sales in 2021, the value of CONFOLENS AUTOMOBILES is estimated at 214 237 € (range 102 718€ - 421 557€). With an EBITDA of 12 440€, the sector multiple of 3.8x is applied. The price/revenue ratio is 0.40x (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.