State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) recorded strong revenue growth in the 2024 financial year, with total earnings climbing 28.3 percent to GHc133.68 billion, up from GHc104.19 billion in 2023.
The performance, according to the 2024 State Ownership Report was largely driven by robust expansion in the Energy sub-sector, which posted 38.98 per cent growth, and Financial & Allied Services, which surged by 49.52 per cent.
The sector also showed signs of operational recovery, with profit before interest and tax (PBIT) improving sharply to GHc1.57 billion in 2024, compared with GHc376.93 million in 2023 and a loss of GHc9.62 billion in 2022.
However, mounting finance costs weighed heavily on the bottom line.
The SOE sector ended 2024 with a net loss of GHc9.67 billion, wider than the GHc7.14 billion shortfall recorded in 2023. Excessive finance charges, totalling GHc9.39 billion, wiped out all operational gains.
On the balance sheet side, total SOE assets expanded by 22.52 per cent to GHc395.20 billion, with ECG, VRA, and GNPC leading contributions. Liabilities, however, rose faster at 24.20 per cent to GHc281.94 billion, with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) alone accounting for GHc71 billion.
Despite persistent losses from entities such as Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company, GNPA, Ghana Water Company Limited, Graphic Communications Group, and Tema Oil Refinery, nine SOEs including the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Bui Power Authority (BPA), Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC), and BOST maintained consistent profitability over the past five years.
In a positive development, three SOEs Ghana Reinsurance Company, TDC Company, and State Housing Company paid a combined dividend of GHc29.36 million to the government in 2024, representing a 78.9 percent increase from the previous year. Notably, the State Housing Company paid dividends for the first time in three decades.
