voestalpine subsidiary

Balance sheet was embellished by 100 million euros for years

For years, a manager of a voestalpine subsidiary booked his division's figures more positively than they were in reality. Over a period of ten years, the accounting errors amounted to EUR 100 million.

At least two people were involved - the former managing director of the company concerned and an accountant, write the "Oberösterreichische Nachrichten" (OÖN), citing the annual report published on Wednesday.

"We can confirm the facts of deliberately profit-improving incorrect bookings at a German company in the Metal Forming Division," voestalpine said.

The matter is currently being investigated by a specialized consultant and a German law firm - this is expected to take until August or September of this year, according to OÖN.

Booking errors were not cash-effective
The former managing director of the company in question, who was later also a member of the Management Board of the Metal Forming Division, has no longer worked for the Group since fall 2023, as voestalpine confirms. According to voestalpine, the incorrect postings were not cash-effective and there was no outflow of funds. However, the 2022/23 balance sheet had to be adjusted and voestalpine's equity was reduced from EUR 7.6 billion to EUR 7.5 billion as of the March 31, 2024 balance sheet date. The financial consequences have been fully taken into account in the 2023/24 consolidated financial statements, voestalpine emphasizes.