Steinhoff, the South-African owner of chains like Conforama and Poundland, has achieved a decent turnover growth in the first nine months of its financial year. Still, billions of euros worth in damage claims keep the company in trouble.
European growth
Turnover from continued activities rose 4 % to 10.1 billion euros in the nine months ending on 30 June, as especially the Pepkor chains (Pepco, Dealz, Poundland) achieved strong results. Conforama however remained just stable.
The company remains in trouble due to its huge debts (some nine billion euros), even though the furniture giant did succeed in reaching an agreement about debt rescheduling. Debts are now only due in 2021, meaning Steinhoff has time to earn more capital by selling off pieces of its portfolio.
The other main threat to the company is the claims of investors who feel cheated by the fraud scandal that was exposed in 2017. Press agency Bloomberg has found out that the total worth of damage claims that were filed in this case amounts to at least 6.2 billion euros. Settlement of these might just be the final nail in Steinhoff’s coffin…
