In 2022, the operating deficit of the 34 public companies jumped 72% in dollars,
from about 3.8 billion to almost 6.5 billion dollars
.
As a reference, it could be pointed out that spending on social security grew 25 points less than inflation last year, which implied that the pension assets that are adjusted by the retirement mobility formula lost close to 11
points of purchasing power
.
It is a sample of
where the scissors do not pass.
And where does it go?
The operating deficit of these companies is the difference between the income they earn from their operations and the expenses they must make to carry out said operations.
That red of public companies is equivalent to
one point of GDP.
To cover this deficit, companies
receive direct transfers from the National Treasury.
The official data
The red of these companies has not stopped growing in recent years.
It was US$ 1,818 million in 2019;
It rose to US$2,323 million in 2020 and reached US$3,764 million in 2021, according to official data.
In 2022 it reached a record of 6,481 million dollars.
This week the Ministry of the Economy released complete information on what happened to public companies in 2022, which allows us to verify that the operating deficit
continued to widen dramatically.
Current and capital transfers
that
the National Treasury allocated to public companies climbed in 2022 to $797,063 million,
equivalent to US$6,131 million.
The heavy operating losses did not prevent companies that are wholly owned by the State -YPF and public banks are not included in this report- from incorporating
new employees
.
In one year,
the personnel plant grew by 1,323 employees, going from 91,754 to 93,077
people who work for national State companies.
There was no vacancy freeze in this sector.
One in three positions in this group of companies belongs to the railways.
As this newspaper has been reporting, the operating deficit of public companies is explained by what basically happens in a handful of them.
Enarsa, Ferrocarriles, Aerolíneas Argentinas, AYSA, Correo Argentino, Radio y Televisión and Yacimientos Carboníferos Río Turbio
(see infographic).
At the root of the deficit is the economic policy chosen by the Kirchner governments since 2003, and specifically the decision to
heavily subsidize the rates of public services.
In fact, half of the 2022 operating deficit corresponds to Enarsa, the public company in charge of importing energy at market price and selling it at a lower price to local distributors.
This characterization
does not apply to Aerolíneas Argentinas or to Radio and Television,
among others.
With respect to Enarsa, the report prepared by Economía explains the situation of this company as follows:
"The operating expense in charge of Enarsa is intended to pay the quotas corresponding to the import of LNG, among other obligations."
On the income side of this company, he points out
: "It should be noted that 28.3% of the current resources (of public companies) are explained by the transfers that the company ENARSA receives from the National Administration, mainly destined to pay the gas consumption corresponding to the injection from Bolivia in relation to the obligations arising from the natural gas purchase and sale contract signed between ENARSA and YPFB and the payments resulting from the Gas.Ar Plan”.
The
announced cut in tariff subsidies -which the IMF demanded to be deepened since May of this year- has been having less effects than expected.
Enarsa's expenses, which grew last year due to the skyrocketing international energy prices, were not nearly offset by a cut in subsidies.
This year, due to lower prices and the possible inauguration of the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline, their numbers should improve significantly.
But you never know.
The public companies as a whole registered in 2022 current income for a total of $705,875 million -an increase of 71.6% in the year- but current expenses grew by 102.4%, jumping to $919,662 million.
The same report indicates that the operating result of public companies was a deficit of $849,050.3.
If this figure is translated into dollars -taking the average exchange rate of 2022, which was $130, as a reference-,
the result shows an operating deficit of 6,481 million dollars.
Trains and
Airlines
Behind Enarsa, the second company with the highest operating deficit is
Ferrocarriles Argentinos
, which exhibited
a red of 1,329 million dollars (3.64 million dollars per day
), 40% higher than the US$ 947 million of 2021. The deficit of the trains It is mainly explained by the fare policy: what passengers pay is far from covering the real cost of a ticket.
In 2022, the passenger train branch (OFSE) had operating income (sale of tickets, basically) of $4,365 million, but its operating expenses were $178,000 million.
Personnel expenses climbed to $114,000 million.
The expense in remunerations to the personnel is explained because the group of state companies of the item, including the cargo service, gives work to
30,636 people.
In fact,
trains are the main employer in the country, compared to other public and private companies.
Aerolíneas Argentinas
must be the only public company that sells its services at market prices.
In other words, a ticket to Mendoza or Madrid may have a similar value if you travel by airlines or by a private company.
Despite operating at market values, the “flag” airline fails to come close to breaking even in operational terms.
In 2022, its deficit in this area was 609 million dollars, yes, less than the US$ 836 million of 2021
, when the pandemic was still affecting the sector.
Airlines already cost the treasury (the citizens) more than 6,000 million dollars in a decade.
In 2022, its workforce jumped from 11,308 to 11,682 employees.
An extreme case is that of the
Río Turbio Carboniferous Deposits
.
The numbers reported by economy say this: it had revenues of only $818 million and operating expenses of $15.615 million.
Of this figure, 13,838 million (88%) went to pay the salaries of its 2,212 employees.
Despite the virtual bankruptcy situation, YCRT added 60 employees last year.
Those with positive balances
There are a handful of companies that closed 2022 with positive numbers in terms of operating results:
INTEA
(Agricultural Technological Innovations) earned US$ 1 million,
VENG
(High Value Added Technological Services and Developments) showed a balance in favor of US $3 million;
Dioxitek
(supply of uranium dioxide for the manufacture of fuel elements for the Embalse and Atucha I nuclear power plants) won US$8 million;
Tandanor
(shipyard) added US$ 11 million;
military manufacturing US$ 12 million
, NASA
(operator of nuclear power plants) US$ 57 million and
AGP
(General Administration of Ports) US$ 68 million.
In total, balance in favor of US$ 160 million.
In his opening speech of the ordinary sessions, President Alberto Fernández pointed out that those who criticized public companies were an advance of the right to recreate closures and privatizations.
The situation of the public companies is one of the points that is being discussed in the economic teams of the opposition.
A few days ago, one of his main references pointed out: "There are companies that are to be reorganized, others to be privatized and others to be closed."
It will undoubtedly be one of the hottest discussions that will take place during the next presidential term.