WARSAW (Reuters) -Polish state-controlled coal company JSW cannot get a refund of the 1.6 billion zlotys ($412 million) that it paid into a fund to offset higher energy prices, the country’s finance minister said on Wednesday.
The company’s shares were down 4.6% at 0840 GMT.
To mitigate the effects of soaring energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland’s government sought a contribution from JSW to fund a mechanism to freeze prices.
JSW requested a refund of the contribution that it paid in 2023 and 2024, citing its difficult financial situation.
Troubled by falling prices of coking coal and high wages, Europe’s largest producer of the feedstock used in the steel industry is facing liquidity issues and needs to restructure.
“At the moment, this is no longer possible … The cost base at JSW has increased significantly, and with falling coal prices, we are facing liquidity problems in the company,” Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said on public radio on Wednesday. “I would like to see what actions will be taken on the cost side.”
Last week, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the country’s defence industry could play a role in restructuring troubled JSW.
The company’s shares rose on Tuesday after Poland’s energy minister proposed including the company in a draft law that would make its miners eligible for a voluntary departure program allowing for savings.
($1 = 3.6365 zlotys)
(Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz and Marek Strzelecki; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus.)
