The struggling German battery manufacturer Varta is once again appealing for help from its investors as a crisis at the business continues to deepen.
Varta has been battered by a slump in demand, competition from cheaper Asian competitors and a cyber attack, all of which have complicated efforts to restructure the company.
A proposed restructuring plan put forward last summer is "no longer adequate" to return Varta to profitable growth by the end of 2026 as previously planned, the company announced late on Thursday.
Varta's management board is negotiating a solution with creditors and investors, the company said.
The Varta share price plummeted following the news. Shortly after trading began on Friday, the stock lost up to 34% of its value and tumbled to €9.30 ($9.93), its lowest level since the company's initial public offering (IPO) in 2017.
So far this year, the stock has lost more than half of its value, and in the past five years it has lost more than three quarters.
According to the company, the crisis facing Varta has worsened across the board.
Demand for small lithium-ion battery cells for products like headphones, for example, has fluctuated greatly, and demand for energy storage systems for electricity from solar installations has unexpectedly plummeted.
The company also complained about cheap prices from competitors for energy storage systems and ongoing problems in the supply chains.
To make matters worse, hackers attacked Varta's computer systems in February and paralysed production for weeks.
The economic consequences of the cyber attack could not yet be fully assessed, Varta said. As a result, the company has already had to postpone the presentation of its consolidated financial statements for the past year.
That means the company will likely also be dropped from Germany's SDAX small-cap stock market index, which could be a further blow to its share value.
Varta had agreed on a far-reaching restructuring with its majority shareholder, Austrian businessman Michael Tojner, and its banks in 2023.
Tojner had injected €50 million into the company to boost its capital, and the banks granted easier credit terms and extended contracts.
Those steps were intended to stabilize the company financially.
But subsequent problems at the company have forced it to once again appeal for further support.
