Ghana's state enterprises post historic turnaround with GH¢19.8bn profit in 2025

Ghana's state-owned sector has achieved a remarkable financial recovery in 2025, marking a pivotal moment for the nation's public enterprises after years of struggling with losses. The State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) released its latest State Ownership Report revealing that state enterprises have swung from a net loss of GH¢2.25 billion in 2024 to consolidated net profit of GH¢19.80 billion—a dramatic reversal that signals potential systemic improvement across the government's portfolio of entities.

The recovery was driven by substantial revenue growth across the state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector, which expanded by 28.12 per cent from GH¢137.64 billion to GH¢176.43 billion. Agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors led this expansion, reflecting broader economic momentum. Crucially, a strengthening cedi contributed GH¢11.72 billion in net foreign exchange earnings, reversing a GH¢12.01 billion loss from the previous year, whilst finance costs fell by 42.49 per cent due to improvements in the macro-economic environment.

Strong performers and persistent problem cases

Whilst the aggregate figures paint an optimistic picture, the report reveals a mixed landscape when examined sector by sector. Joint Venture Companies (JVCs)—often privately-led partnerships—demonstrated the strongest discipline, posting a 36.55 per cent increase in net profit to GH¢3.14 billion. Minority-interest JVCs were particularly valuable, generating GH¢61.32 billion in net profit and delivering 97.12 per cent of all government dividend receipts, totalling GH¢1.19 billion.

However, the broader state sector still harbours serious vulnerabilities. Five SOEs, notably the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Ghana Digital Centre, have recorded consecutive losses from 2021 through 2025—representing a five-year failure to return to profitability. Six entities maintained negative equity throughout this period, indicating balance-sheet insolvency. These chronic underperformers absorb management attention and taxpayer resources without generating returns, raising questions about strategic fitness.

Other State Entities (OSEs), a broad category of government-controlled organisations, performed considerably worse, with their combined net deficit widening from GH¢2.18 billion to GH¢10.48 billion. The Bank of Ghana's negative equity position of GH¢93 billion was the primary driver of this deterioration, though SIGA did not elaborate on the underlying causes or solutions.

Why it matters for Ghana

The recovery of state enterprises is essential to Ghana's fiscal sustainability and economic reset agenda. State-owned entities are significant employers—the sector now employs 98,724 workers, a 5.45 per cent increase—and control critical infrastructure in energy, water, transport and telecommunications. When these organisations fail to break even, the cost is borne by the government budget, crowding out spending on education, health and social services.

Secondly, government dividend receipts remain disappointingly low despite improved aggregate profitability. Only Ghana Reinsurance Company and TDC Company paid dividends totalling GH¢16 million—negligible relative to the GH¢640.99 billion public debt stock. If state enterprises cannot be managed to return surplus capital to government, they represent inefficient capital deployment rather than genuine value creation.

Thirdly, the narrowing of the Monetary Policy Rate from 27 per cent to 18 per cent and the acceleration of real GDP growth to 6 per cent created a more favourable operating environment for SOEs in 2025. However, SIGA's cautionary note—that improved results must translate into lasting efficiency—suggests this recovery may partly reflect macro-economic tailwinds rather than structural reform. When interest rates rise again or growth slows, weak entities will quickly revert to losses.

SIGA has called for stronger accountability, better capital allocation and decisive action against chronically underperforming entities. Government has introduced reforms in public financial management, and procurement infractions fell sharply from GH¢18.4 billion to GH¢2.2 billion, signalling improved governance. Yet the persistence of five loss-making SOEs after five years suggests that strategic decisions about restructuring, privatisation or closure have been deferred.

The report represents the tenth edition of Ghana's flagship assessment of state ownership and the fifth released by SIGA since 2019, covering 162 of 175 approved Specified Entities. For Ghanaians, the headline is encouraging: the state sector is no longer haemorrhaging money. But the fine print reveals that sustainable, genuine value creation remains a work in progress.