ETHIC : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2024, ETHIC achieves revenue of 1.2 M€. Over the period 2016-2024, the company shows strong growth with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of +8.9%. Significant drop of -58% vs 2023. After deducting consumption (121 k€), gross margin stands at 1.0 M€, i.e. a rate of 90%. This ratio measures the ability to generate value from commercial activity. EBITDA (= Gross margin - Personnel expenses - Taxes) reaches 142 k€, representing 12.2% of revenue. Positive scissor effect: EBITDA margin improves by +5.2 pts, sign of improved operational efficiency. This level of operating margin is satisfactory for the sector. Ultimately, net income (= EBIT +/- financial result +/- exceptional - corporate tax) amounts to 663 k€, i.e. 57.4% of revenue. This profit can be retained or distributed to shareholders.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 10%. 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 78%. 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 0.6 years of cash flow to repay all financial debt. This short period demonstrates excellent debt sustainability. Cash flow represents 57.7% 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 345.58. 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 12.0x. 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: 374 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 96 days. The gap of 278 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 37 days (= Average inventory / Cost of goods x 360). Fast turnover, sign of good inventory management. Overall, WCR represents 245 days of revenue, i.e. 787 k€ to permanently finance. Over 2016-2024, WCR increased by +2526%, requiring additional financing.

Based on 131 transactions of similar company sales (all years), the value of ETHIC is estimated at 906 629 € (range 296 378€ - 2 119 007€). With an EBITDA of 141 507€, the sector multiple of 4.8x is applied. The price/revenue ratio is 0.36x (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.