Second-quarter growth reaches 10.5% over last year, reports RGF Monitor

07/31/2024

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Roberta Gonzaga — Foto: Divulgação

The number of companies undergoing court-supervised reorganization in Brazil is on the rise, with a record volume anticipated for this year. The increase was 10.5% in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2023, according to the RGF Judicial Recovery Monitor by consultancy firm RGF & Associados, which shared the data exclusively with Valor. At the end of June, 4,223 companies were negotiating debts in court, compared to 3,823 last year. This is the highest number of companies in reorganization since RGF began keeping records a year ago.

Rio Grande do Sul, which experienced the most significant environmental tragedy in its history at the end of April and beginning of May, is now the state with the second highest number of companies in this situation: 361 small, medium and large companies, second only to São Paulo, with 1,279. In the same period last year, the state was in fifth place.

Experts say the high Selic, Brazil’s benchmark interest rate, now at 10.5% per year, coupled with entrepreneurs’ greater knowledge of the institute, are some of the reasons for the growth. Debts rolled over at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 began to fall due at the end of last year, another factor that explains the figures. In addition, loans and credit lines created for that period are no longer able to stem the damage.

Odebrecht Engenharia e Construção (OEC), with a debt of $4.6 billion (R$25.3 billion), and Polishop, with liabilities of R$395.6 million, were some of the main companies that sought a solution in the courts. In the case of OEC, the debt was renegotiated in 2020 with a grace period of four and a half years. Negotiations with creditors began at the end of 2023, and the reorganization process was filed at the end of June.

Polishop filed for reorganization in early April after closing nearly 200 physical stores since 2021. The company attributed its difficulties to disruptions in the production chain of its imported product lines from China and a decline in sales. Both Polishop and other companies have cited the pandemic and the high Selic interest rate as contributing factors to their challenges.

Roberta Gonzaga, a consultant at RGF, notes that while the number of companies undergoing restructuring continues to rise, the pace has slowed significantly. “The slowdown has been quite notable. In previous quarters, we saw over 200 companies in reorganization; this quarter, the number was 141,” she states.

Ms. Gonzaga also observes that, relative to the total number of companies in the country, the impact of the crisis appears less severe according to the RGF Monitor’s Court-Supervised Reorganization Index (IRJ). The index shows that 1.84 out of every thousand corporations were in reorganization during the period, from a pool of 2.3 million. This ratio is slightly lower than in the first three months of this year, when it stood at 1.87, and also less than the last quarter of 2023, which recorded 1.85 companies in reorganization per thousand.

The states with the highest recovery indices remain unchanged, with Goiás (4.77), Alagoas (4.44), Pernambuco (4.29), and Sergipe (3.6) leading. The sectors facing the most significant difficulties also remain consistent with the previous quarter. Sugarcane cultivation continues to lead, with over 24 companies per thousand in recovery, followed by dairy manufacturing (16.45), municipal public road transportation (14.96), highway and railroad construction (14.22), and soybean cultivation (12.09).

According to Ms. Gonzaga, changes in the performance of regions or sectors are not typically swift, nor do they necessarily indicate a crisis within a state. “Given the vast base of companies, shifts in the indicators require analysis over an extended historical period to be meaningful,” she explains.

For instance, Ms. Gonzaga notes that Goiás, with its significant agricultural base, is naturally prone to certain challenges. “The situation in the state isn’t inherently poor; it’s merely that its economic characteristics differ. Similarly, the Northern region, which is less developed, often appears more favorable in the indicator, yet it has fewer companies in the key sectors driving the market,” she adds.

Ms. Gonzaga also points to an encouraging trend in the reorganization rate of companies post-restructuring. In the second quarter, 74% of the 123 companies that exited court oversight resumed operations successfully. However, 28 companies declared bankruptcy, and five either relocated, closed down, or suspended operations.

Rodrigo Gallegos, a partner at RGF & Associados, highlights a common pattern in the type of debt that leads companies to seek court intervention: a significant portion typically stems from obligations to financial institutions. This situation creates a cyclical problem for debtors who are forced to extend their debt and inject more capital, which often must also be sourced from banks. If a company only addresses its financial issues without tackling the underlying problems that led to the crisis, it still faces a serious challenge,” he cautions.

To avoid court-supervised reorganization or to emerge from it successfully, the key is to first “do some internal homework” by identifying the most profitable areas. “The company must address the root cause, engage in strategic planning, and enhance operations, selling or eliminating all non-essential elements,” advises the expert.

He also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a “minimum amount of cash” before filing for court-supervised reorganization and suggests that companies should only file after thoroughly assessing their structures. He predicts that an improvement in national figures could begin to materialize by the end of this year or early next year if the Selic rate decreases. “If the Selic continues to fall and drops below double digits, we should expect to see a decrease in the number of companies entering court-supervised reorganization rather than an increase,” Mr. Gallegos states.

Gabriela Martines, a partner in TozziniFreire’s restructuring and corporate reorganization area, expects this year to set a record. Beyond economic factors, she notes that the amendments to Law 11101/2005 made in 2020 are starting to take effect. “The negative stigma associated with reorganization has diminished, and there is greater awareness now,” she observes.

The most commonly employed amendments include the preliminary injunction, which accelerates the effects of the recovery, Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) financing, and the mandate to conclude the case within two years. “These changes make it more appealing to investors outside the traditional financial sector,” she adds.

The surge to a record number of filings is underscored by the latest data from Serasa Experian. In June 2024, a total of 1,014 companies initiated judicial reorganization proceedings, marking a 71% increase from the same month in the previous year, when 593 companies did so. This number represents the highest volume recorded for this period in the historical series, exceeding the previous high in 2016 when 923 companies were in reorganization.

*Por Marcela Villar — São Paulo

Source: Valor International

https://valorinternational.globo.com/