Tunis: The debts of the Tunisian steel company "El Fouladh" increased to 580 million dinars (MD) in 2022, bringing the deficit in the company's own funds to 339 MD, according to the company's annual report published by the Tunis Stock Exchange. In 2022, the company failed to meet its obligations to the National Social Security Fund (CNSS). This concerns the principal of the debt (53 MD) and fines of almost 65 MD, covering the period from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the fourth quarter of 2022. "El Fouladh has also failed to reimburse a number of suppliers, most notably the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG), for MD 125. The report notes that "these indicators and the delay in the implementation of the company's financial recovery programme are likely to call into question the assumption of continued operation, which has been the basic assumption in the preparation and presentation of these financial statements. "This situation requires a decision to be taken by the Extraordinary General Meeting to review the continuation of the company's activities in accordance with the provisions of Article 388 of the Commercial Companies Code," the document continues. "The report shows that the tangible and intangible fixed assets, which amounted to approximately 266 MD at the end of 2022, recorded consumption and reserves of approximately 252 MD, for a net amount of 13.8 MD. It is necessary to resolve the real estate situation of part of the company's assets and to create reserves for the removal of the furnace, after carrying out the necessary studies to assess the cost of removal. EL FOULADH, a public limited company set up in 1962 with a capital of almost 53 MD, specialises in the manufacture of steel products such as concrete rods, merchant bars, drawn wires and metal structures. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse