PV retailer THI Handels GmbH from Leonding files for bankruptcy

The situation was further exacerbated by receivables losses. "Aufgrund von Insolvenzen von Geschäftspartnern sei es zu Forderungsausfällen gekommen", the report states. A receivable vis-à-vis the sister company Elektro Kern from Grünbach bei Freistadt also defaulted – both companies have the same managing director: "Der Ausfall einer Forderung gegenüber der Schwestergesellschaft Elektro Kern aus Grünbach bei Freistadt – beide Firmen haben denselben Geschäftsführer – hätte die finanzielle Lage bei THI zusätzlich verschlechtert."

Financial situation and creditors

The company's balance sheet is clearly in the red. Liabilities of 1.5 million euros are offset by assets of around 660,000 euros at liquidation values. This results in a coverage gap that the insolvency administrator will have to examine in the bankruptcy proceedings.

The submitted creditor list names around 60 creditors. They must register their claims in the proceedings and can expect a quota derived from the proceeds of the realizable assets.

Outlook on the proceedings

For the company's five employees, the opening of bankruptcy proceedings means that outstanding wages and salaries can be settled through the insolvency remuneration system. The insolvency administrator will have to examine whether parts of the inventory, customer relationships, or vehicle fleet are still realizable.

THI Handels GmbH thus joins a string of companies that have suffered in recent years under the price and demand pressure in the domestic PV market. After a boom in the first half of the 2020s, margins in the wholesale trade of solar components had noticeably declined, also because more and more providers crowded into the market.

In the coming weeks, the Regional Court of Linz will appoint an insolvency administrator to secure the assets of THI Handels GmbH, review the creditors' claims, and convene an initial creditors' meeting. Only then will it be possible to estimate how high the actual quota for the roughly 60 creditors will be.

With the closure of the business, the Leonding location loses another specialist wholesaler. What effects the bankruptcy will have on the sister company Elektro Kern in Grünbach bei Freistadt initially remained unclear; its management was unavailable for comment.