PR lowered its gov’t net deficit to $59.3 billion in FY2019, long-delayed financial statement shows
By The Star Staff
Two years after filing for bankruptcy, Puerto Rico lowered its government net deficit to $59.3 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2019 but there were still questions about its ability to continue operating, according to its 2019 audited financial statement.
“Notwithstanding the circumstances existing on June 30, 2019, based on subsequent events that remediated the Commonwealth’s financial condition and addressed its liabilities, management does not believe there is substantial doubt about the Commonwealth’s ability to continue as a going concern as of the date of these basic financial statements,” the audit prepared by KPMG stated.
The document was published by the Electronic Municipal Market Access this week, three years after it was due and later than Treasury Secretary Francisco Parés Alicea had anticipated.
The document noted that at the close of FY 2019 substantial doubt existed that the component units of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and the University of Puerto Rico could continue operating.
According to financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, which were published Monday, the commonwealth’s primary government, which encompasses governmental and business-type activities, reported, in the government-wide financial statements, a net deficit of some $59.3 billion on June 30, 2019, which was comprised of some $25.1 billion in total assets and some $2.3 billion in deferred outflows of resources, minus some $84.9 billion in total liabilities and some $1.8 billion in deferred inflows of resources.
The commonwealth’s primary government net deficit was $13.1 billion, or 18%, lower than the $72.3 billion deficit at the end of FY 2018. The net deficit for governmental activities decreased by some $12.5 billion and the net position for business-type activities increased by some $513.3 million during the FY 2019.
The commonwealth’s governmental activities had total revenue of some $24.9 billion for FY 2019, which was higher than total expenses of some $18.5 billion. The commonwealth’s business-type activities had total revenue of some $4 billion for FY 2019, which represented an increase of some $400 million when compared to FY 2018.
The government had total expenses of some $22.1 billion in FY 2019, which included expenses of some $3.6 billion incurred by business-type activities, which represented an increase of some $537.2 million when compared to total expenses incurred during FY 2018.
For FY 2019, the total excess of revenue over expenditures in the General Fund was some $3.1 billion. It consisted of the difference between total actual revenue of some $11.4 billion, minus total actual expenditures of some $8.3 billion.