Bleeding Billions: Restructuring PKP CARGO Before It’s Too Late

PKP CARGO’s freight empire is crumbling. With coal volumes shrinking, market share collapsing, and a EUR 560 million loss on the books, Poland’s largest rail freight operator is betting everything on a sweeping restructuring plan—before it’s too late.

PKP CARGO S.A. has announced a net loss of PLN 2.41 billion (EUR 560 million) for 2024, citing declining freight volumes, an outdated asset base, and significant write-downs in asset value. Despite these financial challenges, the company confirmed it continues operating and is developing a full restructuring strategy to be presented in June 2025.

According to PKP CARGO President Agnieszka Wasilewska-Semail, the results reflect both market downturns and years of strategic neglect: "The 2024 results are a consequence of long-standing inaction and a failure to adapt to a changing freight market." She stressed that the restructuring plan aims to restore profitability and reposition the company for future growth.

‼️PKP Cargo chce sprzedać ponad 10 tys. niepotrzebnych wagonów. Strata za rok 2024 na poziomie 2,41 mld zł, ale paniki na giełdzie nie ma.#kolej #PKP #PKPCargo
💡Tu wyjaśnienie o co chodzi: //t.co/vxQRH1IEjY pic.twitter.com/OOwujKJDbA

— Lukasz Malinowski (@Lukasz_Malin) May 1, 2025

Coal Collapse and Freight Market Erosion

Revenues fell to PLN 4.46 billion (EUR 1.04 billion) in 2024, an 18.8% decline from 2023. The company’s EBITDA plummeted from PLN 1.08 billion (EUR 253 million) to just under PLN 300 million (EUR 70.3 million). As stated by CFO Michał Łotoszyński, asset impairment charges alone accounted for PLN 2.1 billion (EUR 491 million) of the losses, largely due to the over-representation of coal wagons in the company’s fleet.

Coal wagons make up 75% of PKP CARGO’s rolling stock, yet these assets only generate around 30% of the company’s transport output. The reliance on a declining coal sector in 2022 severely weakened the company’s competitiveness in emerging and diversified freight segments. PKP CARGO’s market share has shrunk by approximately 30% in recent years, intensifying the impact of Poland’s broader rail freight downturn.

Legal Restructuring Underway

To address its deteriorating financial position, PKP CARGO filed for restructuring proceedings on 27 June 2024. The Polish court accepted the application in July, launching a formal sanation process intended to secure operational continuity and financial stabilisation.

Under the restructuring programme, the company has already begun streamlining operations, including workforce optimisation, ending non-essential lease agreements, and reducing unnecessary investments. It is also realigning its organisational structure to better match market demand and improve agility. Full details will be disclosed in the formal restructuring plan to be submitted in June 2025.

The absence of this plan has already had consequences. The company’s auditor withheld issuing an opinion on the 2024 results, citing the inability to assess the situation without the restructuring blueprint. This is not a negative verdict, PKP CARGO clarified, but a procedural outcome stemming from the ongoing process.

Rebuilding Client Confidence and Market Relevance

Looking ahead, the company is committed to reviving operational profitability and long-term shareholder value. PKP CARGO is actively working to rebuild relationships with lost clients and diversify its service offering beyond the coal sector. "We are also acquiring new clients—forty new partnerships have been signed in recent months," said Wasilewska-Semail. New freight corridors are also being explored, particularly in cooperation with PKP CARGO’s international subsidiaries.

While the road to recovery is expected to span several years, PKP CARGO’s leadership insists the restructuring is both necessary and transformative. "We believe this process will allow us to create a strong and profitable company," Wasilewska-Semail stated.

The company’s current crisis exposes the broader challenges facing Europe’s traditional freight rail operators—especially those heavily reliant on coal—as they adapt to decarbonisation trends, shifting market dynamics, and rising intermodal competition. PKP CARGO’s future now hinges on how decisively and transparently it can carry out its restructuring agenda.

Source: PKP CARGO