TOPICS : revenue, balance sheet and financial ratios

In 2024, TOPICS achieves revenue of 2.0 M€. Over the period 2016-2024, the company shows strong growth with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of +5.7%. Slight decline of -3% vs 2023. After deducting consumption (0 €), gross margin stands at 2.0 M€, i.e. a rate of 100%. This ratio measures the ability to generate value from commercial activity. EBITDA (= Gross margin - Personnel expenses - Taxes) reaches 339 k€, representing 16.8% of revenue. Warning negative scissor effect: despite revenue change (-3%), EBITDA varies by -43%, reducing margin by 11.9 pts. This reflects costs rising faster than revenue. This high EBITDA margin provides strong self-financing capacity and resilience to uncertainties. Ultimately, net income (= EBIT +/- financial result +/- exceptional - corporate tax) amounts to 291 k€, i.e. 14.4% of revenue. This profit can be retained or distributed to shareholders.

The debt ratio (= Financial debt / Equity x 100) stands at 7%. 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 82%. 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 0.7 years of cash flow to repay all financial debt. This short period demonstrates excellent debt sustainability. Cash flow represents 14.8% of revenue. Cash flow measures resources generated by operations, available for investment and debt repayment. This high level provides strong self-financing capacity.

The liquidity ratio (= Current assets / Current liabilities) stands at 808.47. 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 0.4x. Danger: operating income does not cover interest charges, unsustainable situation.

Working capital requirement (WCR) measures the cash timing gap between customer collections and supplier/inventory payments. Average customer payment term: 109 days (formula: Customer receivables / Revenue incl. VAT x 360). Supplier term: 40 days. The gap of 69 days means the company finances its customers for over a month before being paid relative to supplier payments. This weighs on cash flow. Overall, WCR represents 575 days of revenue, i.e. 3.2 M€ to permanently finance. Over 2016-2024, WCR increased by +765%, requiring additional financing.

Based on 215 transactions of similar company sales (all years), the value of TOPICS is estimated at 348 648 € (range 151 770€ - 1 161 644€). With an EBITDA of 339 367€, the sector multiple of 1.0x 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.