Helbor’s Accounting Under Fire as Investors Demand Answers

Helbor Empreendimentos S.A., a leading real estate developer in Brazil, faces tough questions after investors flagged possible problems in its financial reports.

The alarm came when a minority shareholder asked Brazil’s capital market investors’ association, Abimec, to look into Helbor’s books. Abimec hired Black Stream Associates to review the company’s official statements from 2013 to 2024.

The consultancy’s report found that Helbor may have overstated its net worth by as much as R$ 1.8 billion. The biggest issue: Helbor counted the full results of 65 joint projects as its own, even though it only partly owned them.

Accounting rules say companies should only count their share. Other concerns included adding financial costs to property values and using “fair value” methods for 17 projects, which may have further boosted reported assets.

The report also noted R$ 40.7 million in construction certificates that might not belong on the balance sheet. After these findings emerged, Helbor’s shares dropped 13% in one day and 32% over the month.

The company is now valued at about R$ 380 million on the stock market, with a gross debt of R$ 1.72 billion as of March 2025. Despite these troubles, Helbor reported R$ 2 billion in net sales for the second quarter of 2025, up 22.7% from last year.

Helbor insists its accounts follow Brazilian and international standards and are audited by independent firms. The company’s vice president took over as chief financial officer after the previous CFO resigned.

Helbor also says it has not received the full technical report from Abimec, though the association says otherwise. This story matters because investors depend on trustworthy financial reports to make decisions.

When doubts arise, trust falls and share prices can tumble. Helbor now faces the challenge of clearing up these doubts and restoring confidence. The outcome will shape how investors view risk in Brazil’s real estate sector.

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