BY NADIA NTIAMOAH
Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has challenged the interpretation of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) latest financial assessment of the state-owned enterprises (SOEs), arguing that the reported GH¢19.8 billion combined net profit for 2025 does not fully reflect the underlying operational performance of the companies.
SIGA’s 2025 State Ownership Report presented the results as a major turnaround in the financial fortunes of covered state-owned enterprises.
According to the report, combined revenue increased by 28.12 per cent, rising from GH¢137.64 billion in 2024 to GH¢176.43 billion in 2025. The reported net profit represented a sharp reversal from the GH¢2.26 billion combined net loss recorded in 2024.
However, Simons has questioned the extent to which the dramatic improvement can be attributed to stronger business operations.
He argues that currency-related gains played a significant role in producing the headline profit figure and that the picture becomes considerably different when those effects are removed.
In a post on X, the policy analyst described the figures as “bizarre”, contending that the underlying profitability of state-owned businesses actually weakened in 2025.
According to Simons, excluding currency effects resulted in net profit declining by 17.1 per cent, while operating profit fell by 22.7 per cent. He also said the operating margin narrowed by about 3.5 percentage points between 2024 and 2025.
He explained that SIGA’s headline figures suggest that SOEs moved dramatically from a combined loss of GH¢2.26 billion in 2024 to a profit of GH¢19.80 billion in 2025. However, after currency revaluations are excluded, he said the comparable profit figures tell a different story.
“Profit actually fell from GHS9.75 billion to GHS8.08 billion, a decline of 17.1 per cent,” Simons stated.
