Yesterday, the Group published its nine-month financial results. The period marks the reappearance of a double-digit growth rate - 17% compared to the same time last year - and the most active sequence of external growth - $287 million invested in acquisitions - in its history.

A skilful acquirer, Descartes used to be able to generate returns on investment of between 15% and 20% on its external growth strategy. However, mass effect and the law of large numbers have tended to erode this performance over time.

Over the last ten-year cycle, returns on investment from acquisitions have fluctuated between 10% and 15% - to be sure of this calculation, we would need to be able to separate organic growth from external growth. Given the size of the Group - which now commands an enterprise value of $15 billion - this value creation remains satisfactory in every respect.

We are, however, one notch below the indestructible Constellation Software, often featured in our columns, as earlier this week when we presented the change in strategy of Computer Modelling Group, which also intends to clone its model on that of Constellation.

As we said last year, one notable difference between Descartes and Constellation lies in the fact that the former does not shy away from opportunistic capital increases - there have been two in ten years - when it feels that its stock market valuation justifies this option. Given the judicious use to which these resources have been put to date, shareholders will not complain.

At forty times operating profit before depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, Descartes' current enterprise value hovers on the upper limit of its long-term valuation - perfectly poised between this ceiling, a floor of twenty times EBITDA touched only three times in ten years and, in between, an average of thirty times EBITDA, around which the valuation clearly gravitates.