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 f1c51330e..785f750ba 100644
--- a/tools/core/src/main/java/org/teavm/tooling/TeaVMTool.java
+++ b/tools/core/src/main/java/org/teavm/tooling/TeaVMTool.java
@@ -437,9 +437,9 @@ public class TeaVMTool {
                 vm.preserveType(className);
             }
 
-            if (!targetDirectory.mkdirs()) {
+            if (!targetDirectory.exists() && !targetDirectory.mkdirs()) {
                 log.error("Target directory could not be created");
-                return;
+                System.exit(-1);
             }
 
             BuildTarget buildTarget = new DirectoryBuildTarget(targetDirectory);