Over the course of the last few months there have been no substantial changes in the financial situation of the two main state-owned companies based on the criteria of the fiscal accounts. “While UTE continues to show a considerable surplus, Ancap continues to register a very important deficit that, yes, worsened in the first four months of the current year”, warns the last monitor of the Observatory of the Economic Situation of the UCU.
In the 12 months ending April the fiscal deficit stood at the equivalent of 3.6% of GDP.
In the 12 months ending Aprilthe result of the Central Government-Social Security Bank (GC-BPS) stood at -3% of GDP. Said estimate remains constant in terms of GDP compared to March of this year, adjusted for the advance payment of liabilities and remuneration corresponding to the month of April 2021, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) reported in its statement.
How did UTE and Ancap do?
The MEF publishes the fiscal indicators on a monthly basis and among them are the numbers prepared with fiscal criteria for state-owned companies. These numbers are part of the fiscal information and ultimately contribute to the result of public finances. As a whole, these companies contribute net resources to the fiscal result, but the situation of each of them is different. It is interesting to see, in particular, the performance of the two main ones, both within the energy sector, Ancap and UTE.
The numbers presented include income (basically from sales) and expenses from purchases of goods and services (for example, oil in Ancap and wind energy in UTE), remunerations, investments, interest and contributions to the BPS and taxes. Expenses include dividend payments to the Central Government and, in the case of Ancap, variations in the oil stock, explains the UCU monitor.
In the last 12 months for which information is available, as of April 2022, UTE had revenues of US$2,238 million and expenses of US$2,145 million, so he had a positive result of US$ 92 million. but between The expenses are added to US$ 190 million of dividends, which actually take the fiscal result of the company to US$ 283 million.
On the other hand, in the case of Ancap, there were revenues of US$3,217 million and expenses of US$3,315 million, for which the result was negative by US$99 million in the months to April. However, there were dividends of US$ 2 million and a negative variation in the oil stock of US$ 52 million, which implied an improvement in its cash result. Therefore, the fiscal result adjusted for these two factors was negative by US$ 148 million, depending on the monitor.
In relation to calendar year 2021, in the case of UTE there is a minimal deterioration in the result, since it went from a surplus of US$ 311 million to the already mentioned figure of US$ 283 million. But in the case of Ancap there is a worsening of its numbers, because in 2021 there had been a deficit of US$ 68 million and just four months later that figure climbed to US$148 million.
UCU Situation Observatory.
“Since last year, given the extraordinary increase in the international price of oil, in our country the increases in fuel prices were dosed and in fact these prices have always been below the prices that would arise from considering import parities. But that policy, of successive approximations to the international price, has generated an unavoidable cost to the company Ancap, a situation that cannot be maintained indefinitely due to Ancap’s own financial situation and public finances“, warns the UCU’s Situation Observatory.
