English
Italiano
The latest announcement made by Pierer Mobility AG, with the motorcycle brands KTM, Husqvarna, GASGAS, and 50.1 percent of MV Agusta Motor, caused concern among clienets, fans, business partners, dealers, and shareholders worldwide, as the share price of the Pierer Group reached a new low on Tuesday.
Top managers of MotoGP competitors - Ducati, Aprilia, Yamaha, and Honda - frowned and wondered whether the rigorous cost-cutting measures of Europe's largest two-wheel manufacturer might even jeopardize the participation in the Moto World Championship of the Red Bull KTM Factory Team (with Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta) and Red Bull KTM Tech3 (with Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales), as well as test riders Dani Pedrosa and Pol Espargaró.
The MotoGP cannot really afford to lose another manufacturer (with two teams) after Suzuki's withdrawl at the end of 2022.
However, Hubert Trunkenpolz (the first letter of his surname forms the middle part of the KTM brand name, which stands for Kronreif & Trunkenpolz, Mattighofen) spoke openly in an exclusive interview with GPone.com today, explaining the restructuring plans in detail and making no secret of the fact that this precarious economic situation has certainly been brought about by in-house mistakes.
Following Monday evening's announcement, it is clear that Pierer Mobility's financial situation is worse than expected, witha net debt that increased by 89% in the second quarter. A total loss of 172 million Euros was incurred in the first two quarters.
However, managers at Pierer are in the process of restructuring the Group. In the past, the motorcycle business was combined under the umbrella of Pierer Mobility, while the bicycle business operated under the umbrella of Pierer New Mobility. Now, the two-wheel company from Austria is being completely reorganized.
Hubert, it was announced on Monday that, despite the crisis, Pierer Mobility AG's management board will be reduced from six to two. This caused a lot of head-shaking among financial experts.
"The bicycle business will now be reduced to a minimum. We will concentrate on the smallest quantities in certain niches and on the premium segment. This is why Pierer Mobility will now become a financial holding company in which Stefan Pierer and his designated successor, Gottfried Neumeister, will form the Management Board. The operating company, under which all other companies are grouped, is KTM AG. Here, the Executive Board remains unchanged. It consists of Stefan Pierer, Gottfried Neumeister, Florian Knecht, Alex Pierer, Philipp Habsburg, Rudolf Wiesbeck, and myself. In the operating company, the Management Board remains unchanged at the helm. And everyone is working together to help us repair the damage and get back on track. It is important to note that our MotoGP commitment isn't at risk and neither is our company. However, we will carry out the restructuring of the bicycle division in its entirety this year. The restructuring will result in enormous devaluations and huge impending losses that we will have to take into account. Overall, this will result in a huge loss, which will not look good on the balance sheet. But all the shareholders, primarily Pierer Industrie AG, and also our major Indian shareholder, Bajaj, are on board and fully committed. Therefore, nothing will happen, in any way. All those involved intend to raise the share price again, because it has been valued in the respective balance sheets. There will also be no withdrawal from the capital market. There is no question of taking the company off the stock exchange."
This year, Stefan Pierer founded an investment company with Mark Mateschitz (49% Red Bull shareholder) and then joined him as an investor in Rosenbauer International AG. However, this collaboration with Mark Mateschitz will not be further pursued in KTM?
"No, that's not ready for discussion. And, returning to the MotoGP commitment, there has been a very good and solid partnership with the energy drink company, Red Bull, for many years. That's why our racing team is called the Red Bull KTM Factory Team. There is a strong commitment from Red Bull that goes beyond mere sponsorship."
The preparations for the new MotoGP era after 2026, with all new 850cc engines, are not in danger at Red Bull KTM?
"We are building a new engine for 2027. We are fully committed to that."
