An eight-year delay in the publication of financial statements has shed new light on the long-running financial collapse of Halyvourgiki S.A., the historic Greek steelmaker owned by the Angelopoulos family, revealing that the company was already in deep financial distress as early as 2018.
The financial statements for the 2018 fiscal year were approved by the company’s board only in February 2026 and published days later, underscoring the prolonged financial, legal and restructuring complications that followed the company’s operational shutdown. The delay reflects years of financial turmoil marked by mounting bank debt, halted production, and drawn-out negotiations with lenders and creditors.
The figures, although now outdated, provide a snapshot of the company’s financial position at the time and show that 2018 was already a particularly difficult year. A downturn in the steel market and weak demand led to heavy losses despite a modest increase in revenue, which reached approximately €8.4 million. The company recorded after-tax losses exceeding €45 million, while its equity had already turned negative.
At the same time, total bank borrowing stood at roughly €478 million, with a large portion of the loans already overdue. The company had stopped servicing loan installments and interest payments, expecting a debt restructuring that ultimately never materialized. The situation eventually prompted Greece’s National Bank, the company’s main lender, to initiate legal proceedings seeking to place the steelmaker under a special administration regime.
Further concerns emerged from the independent auditor’s report, issued in March 2026 by KPMG, which included a negative audit opinion on the financial statements. The auditor stated that the financial statements did not fairly present the company’s financial position, performance and cash flows for 2018 under International Financial Reporting Standards.
According to the audit report, the company had negative operating cash flows, negative working capital and negative equity, had ceased production and had stopped paying key suppliers and lenders, resulting in its loans becoming overdue. The report also noted that there had been no substantial progress in restructuring the company’s debt and that there was no alternative financing plan, raising serious doubts about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
The auditor also pointed to significant accounting issues that materially affected the financial statements. The company did not record impairment of fixed assets amounting to €433 million, despite estimates that their real value had declined due to years of factory inactivity. Depreciation totaling €61.2 million had not been recorded on fixed assets, most of it related to previous years, resulting in assets and equity appearing higher and losses lower than they should have been. Impairments were also not recorded for receivables and obsolete inventories from previous years, while deferred tax liabilities of €7.3 million were not recognized, further distorting the financial picture.
Despite the seriousness of the negative audit opinion, creditors are primarily focused on the company’s massive debt burden and the prospects for recovery. The National Bank, as the company’s main lender, remains central to decisions regarding the future of the steelmaker’s assets and the fate of one of Greece’s oldest industrial companies.
