diff --git a/tools/core/src/main/java/org/teavm/tooling/TeaVMTool.java b/tools/core/src/main/java/org/teavm/tooling/TeaVMTool.java
index a46290d23..f1c51330e 100644
--- a/tools/core/src/main/java/org/teavm/tooling/TeaVMTool.java
+++ b/tools/core/src/main/java/org/teavm/tooling/TeaVMTool.java
@@ -436,7 +436,11 @@ public class TeaVMTool {
             for (String className : classesToPreserve) {
                 vm.preserveType(className);
             }
-            targetDirectory.mkdirs();
+
+            if (!targetDirectory.mkdirs()) {
+                log.error("Target directory could not be created");
+                return;
+            }
 
             BuildTarget buildTarget = new DirectoryBuildTarget(targetDirectory);
             String outputName = getResolvedTargetFileName();