Eletrobras reports a loss of R$ 105 million in the second quarter.
The state-owned energy company's results reversed the positive performance of the previous year, pressured by higher costs generated by energy purchased for resale.
SAO PAULO (Reuters) Eletrobras ended the second quarter with a consolidated loss of 105 million reais, reversing a positive result from a year earlier, pressured by higher costs generated by energy purchased for resale.
Cash generation, measured by consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), totaled 465 million reais. The company did not provide a comparison for the consolidated EBITDA of the previous quarter.
EBITDA for companies controlled by Eletrobras fell 42 percent in the second quarter compared to the first three months of the year, to 1,109 billion reais, but increased compared to the 501 million reais reported by the company in its results for the same period in 2013.
The companies in the group that recorded negative EBITDA in the second quarter were Chesf (-79 million), CGTEE (-96 million) and Eletronuclear (-500 thousand).
Eletrobras' energy distribution companies had a positive EBITDA of 123 million reais between April and June.
The operating revenue of Brazil's largest energy company rose 14,5 percent to 6,867 billion reais in the period from April to June. But the cost of purchased energy jumped almost 36 percent compared to the second quarter of 2013, to 2 billion reais.
Revenue from generation totaled 5,31 billion reais, and transmission revenue was 1,09 billion. The distribution area had revenue of 1,45 billion.
The result was also negatively impacted by legal expenses of 360 million reais and a provision of 131 million reais for losses on financial assets, the company said in its earnings report. In the first quarter, Eletrobras had a net profit of 986 million reais.
Eletrobras ended the second quarter with net debt of 5,048 billion reais, more than twice the debt recorded at the end of last year.
The federal government approved yesterday a loan of 6,5 billion reais for Eletrobras, to be granted by Banco do Brasil and Caixa. A government source who followed the loan negotiations informed that the operation is being remunerated at 119 percent of the CDI, corresponding to approximately 13,1 percent per year.
(By Alberto Alerigi Jr., Edited by Camila Moreira)