The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) incurred a net loss of almost 14 billion pesos in the first quarter of 2019, the utility said in a report to the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).

The state-owned company’s income increased 28% in the three-month period to 119.45 billion pesos from 93.11 billion pesos in the first quarter of 2018.

But operating costs increased by 11.1 billion pesos to 125.36 billion pesos, 5.91 billion pesos higher than revenue.

Higher input costs, increasing salary and pension expenses as well as maintenance of CFE power plants all contributed to the elevated operational outlay.

Other factors that contributed to the 13.94-billion-peso (US $710.5-million) loss were higher tax liabilities, electricity theft, technical problems and non-payment of bills.

The utility recorded a 543-million-peso profit in the first quarter of last year.

The CFE submitted its first-quarter report to the BMV more than a month late, attributing the delay to a software problem.

After it exceeded a 20-working day extension, the stock exchange suspended all transactions related to the company on Thursday but lifted the restrictions Friday after the report was submitted.

Source: Milenio (sp), El Financiero (sp), Dinero en Imagen (sp)