Mostostal Warszawa, the Polish construction company, is grappling with financial difficulties and a stalled emergency share issue. Despite this, it has recently signed its largest-ever cubic contract and is close to landing another major deal, though some clients are hesitant to commit.
The company’s management has openly admitted that the current financial situation is causing problems with signing new agreements. In a response to a shareholder during the annual general meeting in May, the board stated that “due to the current financial situation, the company is encountering difficulties in signing contracts in which its offer was selected as the most advantageous in previous months, resulting from the concerns of some clients regarding the company’s ability and capacity to execute new contracts.”
Emergency share issue stalls
Two of Mostostal Warszawa’s main shareholders – Acciona Construcción and OFE PZU „Złota Jesień” – failed to reach an agreement during the third extraordinary general meeting held on June 25. The meeting was meant to decide the terms of a rescue share emission. The management earlier stated that issuing new shares is the only realistic way to raise capital. As a result, the company’s immediate future remains uncertain.
These uncertainties are closely watched by investors and contractors. Some clients who already entrusted the firm with projects are growing uneasy. Others, like the authorities at Kraków Airport, have shown confidence. In mid-May, Mostostal Warszawa signed a PLN 537.7 million net contract for the expansion of the airport’s passenger terminal – the largest cubic contract in the company’s history. The signing ceremony was attended by Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak.
New contracts despite doubts
The firm is also close to finalising a deal to build an ice rink in Tychy. On June 24, the Regional Centre for Water and Wastewater Management in Tychy announced that, after no appeal was lodged, it would proceed with signing the contract with Mostostal Warszawa for the construction of a covered ice rink worth nearly PLN 41 million. – They are to provide security and guarantees. According to their communications, nothing indicates they would have problems with completing the task, and for our part, we always apply above-standard safeguards for every investment. This is a design-and-build contract, so the first year will be spent on design work – explained Zbigniew Gieleciak, president of the company.
Mostostal Warszawa currently has two road contracts with the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA), worth over PLN 2.5 billion combined. The larger one, valued at PLN 2.2 billion, is for the construction of a 10-kilometre section of the S19 expressway (Via Carpatia) between Rzeszów Południe and Babica in Podkarpacie. – It can be said that this section is finished, except for the tunnel, where work will be concentrated. During tunnel drilling, methane was discovered, which caused an extension of the contract – said Marek Ustrobiński, director of GDDKiA’s Rzeszów branch, during a meeting of the parliamentary team for the construction of Via Carpatia.
The second road contract, worth PLN 305.79 million gross, is for the design and construction of an S8 expressway section between Niemcza and Ząbkowice Śląskie in Lower Silesia, with completion scheduled for the second half of 2028. Other ongoing projects include a railway siding upgrade for PKP Intercity in Wrocław, a fuel supply system for the Częstochowa combined heat and power plant commissioned by Fortum Power and Heat Polska, and various other projects for police, prosecutors, local governments, and developers.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. WNP.PL (materiały prasowe Mostostal Warszawa)
