Company bankruptcies in Austria at highest level in 15 years

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) - A total of 1,091 company insolvencies were filed in Austria in the first quarter of this year, the highest in 15 years, the AKV Europa creditor association announced Wednesday.

The creditor protectors assume that there will be more than 4,000 insolvencies this year and more than 7,000 insolvency proceedings, including insolvency rejections due to lack of assets, AKV said in a press release.

According to the latest figures, the number of corporate insolvencies rose by 35.01% compared to the same period last year.

"The mix of inflation with increased energy prices and interest rates on loans, declining construction volumes and real estate investments, subdued demand for credit and a lack of economic growth is not only driving insolvency figures to exorbitant levels, but is also increasingly pushing larger companies with several hundred employees that are established on the market into insolvency," the AKV stated in its press release.

The number of employees affected by insolvency has risen by 63.95% to 5,294, according to AKV.

As the AKV predicts, both the negative economic conditions and the developments of recent months will prolong the disproportionately high number of insolvencies.

The association assumes that 2024 will see a peak in the number of corporate insolvency proceedings.