FORAGES DU NORD OUEST : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2024, FORAGES DU NORD OUEST achieves revenue of 9.2 M€. Over the period 2016-2024, the company shows strong growth with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of +8.0%. Slight decline of -7% vs 2023. After deducting consumption (1.2 M€), gross margin stands at 8.0 M€, i.e. a rate of 87%. This ratio measures the ability to generate value from commercial activity. EBITDA (= Gross margin - Personnel expenses - Taxes) reaches 818 k€, representing 8.9% of revenue. Warning negative scissor effect: despite revenue change (-7%), EBITDA varies by -27%, reducing margin by 2.4 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 200 k€, i.e. 2.2% of revenue. This profit can be retained or distributed to shareholders.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 45%. Debt remains under control: the company retains capacity to raise new debt if needed. Financial autonomy (= Equity / Total assets x 100) reaches 46%. 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 1.2 years of cash flow to repay all financial debt. This short period demonstrates excellent debt sustainability. Cash flow represents 8.7% 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 240.81. 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 10.4x. 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: 86 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 55 days. The gap of 31 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 9 days (= Average inventory / Cost of goods x 360). Fast turnover, sign of good inventory management. Overall, WCR represents 107 days of revenue, i.e. 2.7 M€ to permanently finance. Over 2016-2024, WCR increased by +48%, requiring additional financing.

Based on 136 transactions of similar company sales (all years), the value of FORAGES DU NORD OUEST is estimated at 1 392 301 € (range 508 697€ - 3 080 720€). With an EBITDA of 817 752€, the sector multiple of 1.7x is applied. The price/revenue ratio is 0.21x (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.