hours reduced to single-shift
operations from March to reduce
inventory, which is currently at
record levels.
"It was clear that the liabilities
of the KTM companies would
reach a high level. Nevertheless,
we are surprised that the liabili-
ties are so high," said Cornelia
Wesenauer, insolvency expert for
the Alpine Creditors Association
(AKV). "After all, at first glance,
we expect liabilities of €2.5 to €3
billion. That is now clear. This is
the largest insolvency procedure
in Austria this year."
Upper Austria Governor
Thomas Stelzer, quoted by APA,
said, "Of course, as politicians,
we want to help and support.
We are doing everything we
can to save the factory and the
jobs. However, EU state aid and
insolvency laws de facto exclude
liability."
KTM's debt crisis comes after
years of aggressive expansion,
after Pierer Industrie AG pur
-
chased Husqvarna, GasGas and
a 50.1 percent controlling stake
in MV Agusta, and has been ex-
acerbated by the post-Covid 19
pandemic economic downturn,
in which dealers have had to
slash prices on floor stock just
to keep up with sales targets.
According to Italian website
GPOne, the 2023 financial year
saw KTM produce a €100 million
($104 million) profit, a reduction
of €281 million ($294 million)
from 2022, with the share price
dropping 90 percent to $11.65 at
the time of this writing.
KTM has taken the steps to
reduce its board members from
six to two, with Gottfried Neu-
meister joining the Executive
Board as Co-CEO in September.
"The enthusiasm of our em-
ployees is our most important
competitive advantage," said
Neumeister. "Their passion is the
reason why KTM is globally syn
-
onymous with peak performance.
We build our motorcycles reli-
ably and robustly for every race,
for every terrain. Now it's about
making the company robust.
Robust for the future. So that we
can quickly focus again on what
we do best: building the coolest
motorcycles in the world."
KTM USA has stated that the
legal restructuring procedure
pertains only to KTM AG and
thus does not currently affect
KTM USA's operations. However,
should further financial troubles
befall the head office of KTM
AG, it's impossible to see these
not trickling down to the various
worldwide subsidiaries.
Owing to the current financial
situation, KTM has pulled the
GasGas and Husqvarna names
out of MotoGP, Moto2 and
Moto3 competition, with only
the head KTM brand remaining
in MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3.
Changes have also been made
in various off-road categories,
including the reigning MXGP
Champions GasGas factory
team being pulled from com
-
petition. KTM USA has noted it
intends to race as usual within
the Monster Energy AMA Super
-
cross series with factory involve-
ment for KTM, GasGas and
Husqvarna brands.
CN
VOLUME ISSUE DECEMBER , P29
The new KTM 990 Duke R was one of
a slew of new bikes released by the
brand at EICMA 2024, however, the
buzz has all but been drowned out by
the company's financial crisis.
