It is said that the balance sheet of a German company in the metalworking division has been embellished for ten years – by as much as 100 million euros! This scandal, which became known in June, will keep Voestalpine busy for a while. The assessment by the financial markets regulator alone will take months.
Nothing was reported about it at the annual press conference for the 2023/24 financial year, and it was only mentioned in the annual report itself from page 112 – Vostalpine’s wall tactics around the accounting scandal at a German company in the Metal Forming Division took precautions a few days caused major commotion.
And it won’t be over anytime soon. The internal review of the incidents, which is said to have taken 10 years, will last until August or September, it is said. In addition, the special investigation by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets, or FMA for short, will also take time.
Ettl speaks of “a few months”
According to Helmut Ettl, the head of the Financial Markets Authority, the investigation will take “several months”. The FMA is investigating whether the information should have been communicated earlier or whether the steel company breached disclosure rules.
Information that may be relevant to the share price should be made public through ad hoc announcements so that all shareholders have the opportunity to learn about it at the same time. The sanctions for violations of ad hoc obligations are very strict. There is a risk of fines of up to 2.5 million euros or two percent of turnover. Voestalpine achieved a turnover of almost 17 billion euros in the 2023/24 financial year.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
