LABORATOIRES ALCON : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2024, LABORATOIRES ALCON achieves revenue of 236.0 M€. Activity remains stable over the period (CAGR: -3.1%). Vs 2023: +7%. After deducting consumption (162.3 M€), gross margin stands at 73.8 M€, i.e. a rate of 31%. This ratio measures the ability to generate value from commercial activity. EBITDA (= Gross margin - Personnel expenses - Taxes) reaches 11.5 M€, representing 4.9% of revenue. The operating margin remains fragile, requiring cost vigilance. Ultimately, net income (= EBIT +/- financial result +/- exceptional - corporate tax) amounts to 7.4 M€, i.e. 3.1% of revenue. This profit can be retained or distributed to shareholders.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 0%. 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 39%. The balance between equity and debt is satisfactory. Debt repayment capacity (= Financial debt / Cash flow) indicates it would take 0.0 years of cash flow to repay all financial debt. This short period demonstrates excellent debt sustainability. Cash flow represents 5.0% 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 187.34. 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 1.9x. Coverage is limited: any activity downturn would jeopardize interest payments.

Working capital requirement (WCR) measures the cash timing gap between customer collections and supplier/inventory payments. Average customer payment term: 76 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 42 days. The gap of 34 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 21 days (= Average inventory / Cost of goods x 360). Fast turnover, sign of good inventory management. Overall, WCR represents 90 days of revenue, i.e. 59.2 M€ to permanently finance. Notable WCR improvement over the period (-50%), freeing up cash.

Based on 124 transactions of similar company sales (all years), the value of LABORATOIRES ALCON is estimated at 20 336 181 € (range 10 550 766€ - 64 823 165€). With an EBITDA of 11 496 210€, the sector multiple of 0.7x 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.