LES BALLASTIERES MERCIER S.A. : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2024, LES BALLASTIERES MERCIER S.A. achieves revenue of 3.0 M€. Revenue is growing positively over 9 years (CAGR: +3.3%). Vs 2023, growth of +10% (2.7 M€ -> 3.0 M€). After deducting consumption (1.2 M€), gross margin stands at 1.8 M€, i.e. a rate of 60%. This ratio measures the ability to generate value from commercial activity. EBITDA (= Gross margin - Personnel expenses - Taxes) reaches 194 k€, representing 6.4% of revenue. Positive scissor effect: EBITDA margin improves by +2.6 pts, sign of improved operational efficiency. The operating margin remains fragile, requiring cost vigilance. Ultimately, net income (= EBIT +/- financial result +/- exceptional - corporate tax) amounts to 31 k€, i.e. 1.0% of revenue. This profit can be retained or distributed to shareholders.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 49%. Debt remains under control: the company retains capacity to raise new debt if needed. Financial autonomy (= Equity / Total assets x 100) reaches 25%. The balance between equity and debt is satisfactory. 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 6.1% 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 114.79. 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 6.0x. 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: 62 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 83 days. Favorable situation: supplier credit is longer than customer credit by 21 days. Inventory turnover is 49 days (= Average inventory / Cost of goods x 360). Overall, WCR represents 79 days of revenue, i.e. 664 k€ to permanently finance.

Based on 95 transactions of similar company sales (all years), the value of LES BALLASTIERES MERCIER S.A. is estimated at 302 029 € (range 123 225€ - 1 319 265€). With an EBITDA of 194 302€, the sector multiple of 1.4x is applied. The price/revenue ratio is 0.17x (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.
Medium reliability: estimate to be confirmed with in-depth analysis.