The creditor protection association Creditreform has analyzed the final figures for company insolvencies for the first half of 2024 in Austria. Company insolvencies continue to rise massively by 26.4% to 3,363 proceedings. The number of cases opened increased by 34.6% to around 2,100. Bankruptcies rejected due to lack of assets increased by 14.7% to 1,264. Gerhard M. Weinhofer, managing director of the preferential creditor protection association Austrian Association Creditreform, analyzes the current insolvency trend: “The topic of pandemics no longer plays a role in insolvencies. The ongoing economic downturn is having a negative impact. The order books are increasingly empty, but costs continue to rise and there are bureaucratic hurdles. Companies are fighting on numerous fronts and are increasingly losing this battle.” According to a Creditreform survey of 1,400 Austrian companies in the spring, the business climate of domestic companies is more negative than at the height of the pandemic, characterized by falling earnings and orders as well as a low willingness to invest. Order expectations are more pessimistic than they have been in 30 years. The insolvency liabilities amount to around 11.2 billion euros. 11,000 jobs are affected. The first half of the year was primarily characterized by a number of bankruptcies from the SIGNA Group, including Rene Benko as a sole proprietor, as well as numerous well-known companies such as Fisker GmbH, Windhager Zentralheiz Technik GmbH and Brucha GmbH.
Federal state comparison
Vorarlberg (+74.1%), Burgenland (+67.0%) and Styria (+33.2%) recorded the strongest growth. The highest incidence of insolvency is in the federal capital with almost 15 insolvencies per 1,000 companies, the lowest in Tyrol with 5 out of 1,000 companies. In general, companies in the East are at greater risk of insolvency.
Across Austria, around 9 out of 1,000 companies have to file for insolvency.
Industry comparison: Strong growth in industry and transport
Insolvencies are rising most sharply in the manufacturing of goods (industry) at +44.6%, in the credit and insurance sector (+44.6%) and in the transport and communications sector (transportation) at +44.4%. Despite the large percentage increase, the industry is still more crisis-resistant than others compared to other sectors. However, the industry is fighting on several fronts at the same time: declining orders, high wages and energy costs, a shortage of skilled workers and bureaucratic hurdles.
Most bankruptcies are filed in retail (625), construction (598) and business services (500). Trade is suffering due to declining domestic consumption. Construction struggles with high costs and high interest rates. The greatest relative risk of insolvency is in the transport and construction sectors, with around 25 insolvencies out of 1,000 industry companies each.
Conclusion and outlook for 2024: More than 7,200 bankruptcies expected
“A wave of insolvencies has been sweeping across Austria since the beginning of the year. More and more companies are losing the battle against the general economic situation with high prices and declining demand. Germany, which is in recession as the most important trading partner, is dragging Austria down with it. “In addition, there are self-inflicted problems such as excessive wage agreements, inflation and a backlog of reforms in numerous policy areas,” says Gerhard Weinhofer, summarizing the current situation. Weinhofer expects more than 7,200 company bankruptcies for 2024 as a whole, a new record for 15 years.
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