Yet it has no reason to be ashamed of its exceptional operational and financial performance. Its sales have quadrupled in ten years - over the period 2013-2023 - while its net margins are more reminiscent of those of a software publisher than an industrialist.

The Swiss, as we know, have developed a chemical cluster of unrivalled economic efficiency, with several world-class players positioned in lucrative specialty segments for the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries, among others.

As part of this ecosystem, Dottikon posted a profit of CHF 89 million this year, compared with CHF 59 million last year and CHF 16 million five years ago. Margin expansion is remarkable - with profits growing at a faster pace than sales - and the balance sheet is completely debt-free.

Firmly controlled by its management - CEO Markus Blocher owns two-thirds of the capital - the group makes absolutely no effort to communicate. This has not prevented it from carrying out an extraordinarily favourable capital increase in 2021.

What opportunism! At the time, its valuation reached an aberrant triple-digit EBITDA multiple. The extreme irrationality that prevailed at the time, in the midst of a pandemic, is clear to see. Dottikon would certainly have been wrong not to take advantage.

Back to its historical average of between x20 and x25 pre-amortization operating profit, the valuation has since normalized. The company's low free float and impressive growth trajectory have so far left little opportunity for a dip, but who knows what tomorrow will bring?