Public corporations registered a deficit of €22.7m in 2020, a decrease of €118.9m over 2019

In 2020, public corporations registered a deficit of €22.7 million, equivalent to 0.2% of GDP, and a net worth position of €1,563.4 million, amounting to 12.0% of GDP.

In  2020,  public corporations registered a deficit of €22.7 million, a decrease of €118.9 million when compared to 2019.

The total revenue of public corporations amounted to €1,251.2 million, €285.9 million lower than that registered in the previous year. The main source of revenue was the income generated from own operations, with a share of 86.8%.

Total expenditure of €1,273.8 million was recorded, a drop of €167.0 million in comparison to 2019.

The primary expenditure items were Direct operating expenses and Wages and salaries, which accounted for 69.6% and 16.9% of total expenditure, respectively. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the financial performance of several public corporations.

Taking the Central Bank of Malta into consideration, in 2020 the aggregate surplus of public corporations amounted to €10.4 million, resulting from revenue of €1,318.0 million and expenditure of €1,307.7 million.

Statement of financial position

The total assets of public corporations stood at €4,181.9 million in 2020, with the predominant asset category being non-financial assets (67.6%), rather than financial assets (32.4%).

All the asset sub-categories registered an increase compared to 2019, except for Land and Buildings (-€2.3 million) and Trade and Other Receivables (-€36.0 million).

On the other hand, financial liabilities totalled €2,618.6 million, consisting of Bank borrowings (43.5%), Other liabilities (39.3%) and Trade and Other payables (17.2%). Compared to 2019, all 3 sub-categories registered an increase: Bank borrowing (€28.2 million), Other liabilities (€20.0 million) and Trade and other payables (€15.2 million).

Compared to 2019, the aggregate net worth of public corporations increased by €20.6 million, which resulted from a rise in total assets (€84.0 million) that outweighed the increase in total liabilities (€63.4 million). By 2020, the net worth of public corporations had reached €1,563.4 million.

Taking into account all the public corporations, including the Central Bank of Malta, in 2020 the net worth stood at €1,192.6 million, resulting from the difference between total assets of €13,348.0 million and total liabilities of €12,155.4 million.

Analysis by NACE

In 2020, there were 52 public corporations, including the Central Bank of Malta.

The sector with the highest revenue and expenditure of public corporations was the Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector, with amounts of €482.4 million and €498.3 million, respectively. In this respect, other key sectors were the Wholesale and retail trade and Transport and storage sectors. The Transport and storage sector recorded the highest deficit, which totalled €64.2 million, followed by the Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector which registered a deficit of €15.9 million.

The Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector had the highest net worth of €666.4 million, followed by the Real estate activities sector (€296.3 million) and the Construction sector (€164.5 million).