May 30 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian thermal power plant (TPP) Maritsa 3 [BUL:MR3] said that its consolidated net loss shrank to 4.3 million levs ($2.35 million/2.2 million euro) in the first quarter of 2023, as compared to a net loss of roughly 69 million levs in the same period last year, following a sharp drop in expenses.
The company's operating revenue dropped to 8.9 million levs in the first quarter from 33.5 million levs in the same period of 2022, TPP Maritsa 3 said in an interim financial statement on Monday.
The coal-fired power plant cut its expenses to 13.2 million levs from 109.8 million levs in the first quarter of last year. The sharp decrease was due to a 68% annual plunge in expenses for materials to 8.9 million levs. Meanwhile, costs for hired services also noticeably declined, to 539,000 levs in January-March from 2.7 million levs in the same three months of 2022. Salary costs were also down, by over 71% on the year to 1.4 million levs. Other expenses fell to 228,000 levs in the review period from 56.9 million levs a year earlier.
The plant, which has one functioning 120-MW unit, is located in the town of Dimitrovgrad, in southern Bulgaria. Last year, it was temporarily shut down on account of breaches of environmental legislation and non-compliance with air quality standards regulating sulfur dioxide and coal dust emissions.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)