FONTAINE FRANCE : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2024, FONTAINE FRANCE achieves revenue of 3.0 M€. Revenue is growing positively over 6 years (CAGR: +4.0%). Vs 2020, growth of +108% (1.5 M€ -> 3.0 M€). After deducting consumption (506 k€), gross margin stands at 2.5 M€, i.e. a rate of 83%. This ratio measures the ability to generate value from commercial activity. EBITDA (= Gross margin - Personnel expenses - Taxes) reaches 81 k€, representing 2.7% of revenue. Warning negative scissor effect: despite revenue change (+108%), EBITDA varies by -82%, reducing margin by 27.4 pts. This reflects costs rising faster than revenue. The operating margin remains fragile, requiring cost vigilance. Net income is negative at -6 k€ (-0.2% of revenue), which will impact equity.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 86%. Debt level is high: negotiating margin with banks is reduced. Financial autonomy (= Equity / Total assets x 100) reaches 36%. The balance between equity and debt is satisfactory. Debt repayment capacity (= Financial debt / Cash flow) indicates it would take 34.1 years of cash flow to repay all financial debt. Beyond 7 years, banks generally consider credit risk as high. Cash flow represents 1.9% of revenue. Cash flow measures resources generated by operations, available for investment and debt repayment.

The liquidity ratio (= Current assets / Current liabilities) stands at 139.01. 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 41.3x. 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: 157 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 407 days. Excellent situation: suppliers finance 250 days of the operating cycle (retail model). Inventory turnover is 65 days (= Average inventory / Cost of goods x 360). Overall, WCR represents 274 days of revenue, i.e. 2.3 M€ to permanently finance. Over 2016-2024, WCR increased by +2234%, requiring additional financing.

Based on 132 transactions of similar company sales (all years), the value of FONTAINE FRANCE is estimated at 558 928 € (range 335 542€ - 1 046 313€). With an EBITDA of 81 096€, the sector multiple of 3.2x is applied. The price/revenue ratio is 0.35x (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.