Non-current asset

Non-current assets (immobilisations or actifs non courants) are assets held for use over more than one accounting period — property, plant and equipment, intangible assets, financial investments and right-of-use assets under IFRS 16. They form the productive base of the business and are the primary focus of maintenance and growth capex analysis. In financial due diligence, non-current asset analysis covers: depreciation policy adequacy, hidden reserves (particularly in Swiss CO accounts), asset age and remaining useful life, and capex requirements for sustaining and growing the asset base.

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Example: a Swiss manufacturer carries plant and equipment at CHF 8.5 million net (14-year average age vs. 10-year useful life). Technical review reveals significant overdue replacement needs — CHF 2.0 million of immediate investment required to restore the asset base, versus CHF 800,000 annual depreciation. This capex underfunding, invisible in the income statement, requires a normalised capex restatement that reduces free cash flows and the DCF valuation by approximately CHF 3.5 million.

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Hectelion analyses non-current asset quality and capex requirements in every financial due diligence to identify underfunding that affects DCF valuation.