Omanghana
Dividend payments made to the government by Ghana’s State-Owned Enterprises declined by 45.5% in 2025, raising questions about the financial strength and cash-generating capacity of state-owned companies.
The decline emerged from assessments of the 2025 State Ownership Report released by the State Interests and Governance Authority.
Although SIGA reported that the state-owned enterprise sector returned to consolidated profitability during the year, dividend payments from wholly state-owned companies fell significantly.
The 53 fully state-owned enterprises recorded a combined net profit of GH¢19.80 billion in 2025, reversing successive years of losses. Despite the reported recovery, the companies remitted only about $1.4 million in dividends to the state, representing a 45.5% reduction from the previous year.
Only a small number of the enterprises paid dividends. Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited and TDC Development Company Limited were among the entities that made direct payments, while BOST Energies announced its first-ever dividend contribution.
Joint venture companies performed considerably better in delivering returns on the government’s investments. Businesses in which the state holds minority interests reportedly contributed GH¢1.19 billion, representing more than 97% of the total dividends received across the state portfolio.
The disparity between the GH¢19.80 billion consolidated profit and the limited dividend payments has prompted questions about whether the sector’s recovery resulted from stronger operations or mainly from non-cash accounting gains.
Some financial analysts, including IMANI Africa Vice President Bright Simons, have argued that foreign-exchange movements significantly influenced the reported profit.
The Electricity Company of Ghana, for example, reportedly moved from a foreign-exchange loss of GH¢8.84 billion in 2024 to an exchange-rate gain of GH¢12.16 billion in 2025 following the stabilization of the cedi.
Such revaluation gains can improve reported profits without necessarily producing cash that can be used to pay dividends, finance investments or reduce dependence on government support.
Analysts maintain that after foreign-exchange gains and other non-operational adjustments are excluded, the underlying operating margins of several state-owned companies weakened between 2024 and 2025.
Some enterprises also remained in persistent financial difficulty. ECG, Graphic Communications Group, Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company, GNPA and Ghana Digital Centre reportedly continued to record losses over multiple years.
Tema Oil Refinery and GIHOC Distilleries were among the state-owned companies said to have ended 2025 with negative equity, indicating that their liabilities exceeded the value of their assets.
The apparent gap between reported profits and actual dividend payments has intensified calls for SIGA and the Ministry of Finance to strengthen cash-flow reporting, corporate governance and dividend enforcement across the sector.
Policy analysts argue that improvements in headline earnings should be supported by sustainable operating cash flows, consistent dividend payments and reduced financial exposure for the national budget.
They contend that the performance of state-owned enterprises should ultimately be assessed not only by accounting profits but also by their ability to meet obligations, finance operations and provide measurable returns to the state.
Source: Omanghana
