GCF : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2024, GCF achieves revenue of 32.0 M€. Over the period 2016-2024, the company shows strong growth with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of +16.8%. Slight decline of -9% vs 2023. After deducting consumption (26.8 M€), gross margin stands at 5.2 M€, i.e. a rate of 16%. This ratio measures the ability to generate value from commercial activity. EBITDA (= Gross margin - Personnel expenses - Taxes) reaches 419 k€, representing 1.3% of revenue. Warning negative scissor effect: despite revenue change (-9%), EBITDA varies by -73%, reducing margin by 3.2 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 5 k€, i.e. 0.0% of revenue. This profit can be retained or distributed to shareholders.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 113%. Debt level is high: negotiating margin with banks is reduced. Financial autonomy (= Equity / Total assets x 100) reaches 19%. Low autonomy: the company heavily depends on external financing (banks, suppliers). Debt repayment capacity (= Financial debt / Cash flow) indicates it would take 29.4 years of cash flow to repay all financial debt. Beyond 7 years, banks generally consider credit risk as high. Cash flow represents 0.3% of revenue. Cash flow measures resources generated by operations, available for investment and debt repayment.

The liquidity ratio (= Current assets / Current liabilities) stands at 171.67. 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 68.7x. 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: 12 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 93 days. Excellent situation: suppliers finance 81 days of the operating cycle (retail model). Inventory turnover is 117 days (= Average inventory / Cost of goods x 360). This high level ties up cash and potentially creates obsolescence risk. Overall, WCR represents 144 days of revenue, i.e. 12.8 M€ to permanently finance. Over 2016-2024, WCR increased by +241%, requiring additional financing.

Based on 148 transactions of similar company sales in 2024, the value of GCF is estimated at 1 879 947 € (range 830 239€ - 3 227 803€). With an EBITDA of 418 818€, the sector multiple of 1.6x is applied. The price/revenue ratio is 0.16x (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.