{"id":1088,"date":"2026-09-01T09:14:05","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T09:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/?p=1088"},"modified":"2026-09-01T09:14:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T09:14:06","slug":"gh%c2%a219-8bn-soe-profit-under-scrutiny-as-bright-simons-challenges-siga-figures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/?p=1088","title":{"rendered":"GH\u00a219.8bn SOE Profit Under Scrutiny as Bright Simons Challenges SIGA Figures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has challenged the State Interests and Governance Authority\u2019s (SIGA) reported <strong>GH\u00a219.8 billion net profit<\/strong> for Ghana\u2019s state-owned enterprises in 2025, raising questions about the role of foreign-exchange gains and inconsistencies in historical figures used to measure the sector\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SIGA\u2019s 2025 State Ownership Report presented the result as a major turnaround for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which recorded a combined <strong>GH\u00a22.26 billion net loss in 2024<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report showed that total SOE revenue increased from approximately <strong>GH\u00a2137.64 billion in 2024 to GH\u00a2176.43 billion in 2025<\/strong>, representing growth of about 28.1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Simons has disputed the broader interpretation of those figures, arguing that the headline profit does not necessarily reflect an equivalent improvement in the underlying operations of state-owned companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Simons questions the turnaround<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a detailed assessment of the report, Simons said his analysis of SIGA\u2019s figures showed that foreign-exchange movements played a significant role in the reported turnaround.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He argued that when currency revaluation effects are removed, the financial picture changes considerably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to calculations presented by Simons, adjusted net profit fell from about <strong>GH\u00a29.75 billion in 2024 to GH\u00a28.08 billion in 2025<\/strong>, which he said represented a decline of approximately <strong>17.1%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He further claimed that operating profit fell by about <strong>22.7%<\/strong>, while operating margins narrowed during the period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those figures represent Simons\u2019 analysis of the underlying data and should be distinguished from SIGA\u2019s official consolidated financial results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SIGA officially reports that the SOE sector recorded <strong>GH\u00a219.8 billion in net profit after tax in 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">1. We were all there when SIGA, an agency that regulates state-owned or controlled businesses and parastatals, came and told us that state-controlled businesses have made incredible profits in 2025.<br><br>2. This was presented as a massive turnaround after years of losses.<br><br>3. Someone\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oh3bgtxmrF\">pic.twitter.com\/oh3bgtxmrF<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Bright Simons (@BBSimons) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BBSimons\/status\/2094506120299631088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 31, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>ECG exchange-rate gains draw attention<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) features prominently in Simons\u2019 criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to his analysis, ECG moved from approximately <strong>GH\u00a28.84 billion in foreign-exchange losses in 2024 to about GH\u00a212.16 billion in exchange gains in 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That represents a swing of nearly <strong>GH\u00a221 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Simons argues that the movement accounted for a substantial portion of the overall change in profitability recorded across the state-owned sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The distinction is important because foreign-exchange gains can increase a company\u2019s reported accounting profit without necessarily representing additional income generated from its normal business activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For ECG, that would mean separating improvements resulting from exchange-rate movements from those generated through electricity sales, cost reductions, improved collections or other operational changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Historical SIGA figures also questioned<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Simons has also raised concerns about what he described as inconsistencies in figures published across different editions of SIGA\u2019s State Ownership Reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One example involves the reported net loss of SOEs for 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Simons\u2019 comparison, the figure has appeared differently in successive reports, including approximately <strong>GH\u00a22.57 billion, GH\u00a27.14 billion and GH\u00a26.82 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also questioned historical figures covering revenue, liabilities and operating costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Simons said the variations make it difficult to conduct reliable year-to-year comparisons of state-owned companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At this stage, however, the discrepancies highlighted by Simons should be treated as <strong>claims requiring reconciliation by SIGA<\/strong>, rather than established evidence that the authority deliberately misreported financial information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Historical figures can sometimes change because of accounting restatements, changes in reporting methodology or adjustments to the companies included in consolidated accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An explanation from SIGA would therefore be required to establish what caused the differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Questions over percentage used to describe turnaround<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Simons has also questioned reports describing the movement from a <strong>GH\u00a22.26 billion loss in 2024 to a GH\u00a219.8 billion profit in 2025 as a 976% improvement<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The criticism centres on the difficulty of using a conventional percentage-growth calculation when the starting figure is negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The change can more clearly be expressed as a movement from a GH\u00a22.26 billion loss to a GH\u00a219.8 billion profit, representing an improvement of roughly <strong>GH\u00a222.06 billion in nominal terms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That avoids giving readers a percentage that may be mathematically difficult to interpret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SIGA figures still show major revenue growth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the questions surrounding the profit figure, SIGA\u2019s report contains other indicators pointing to improved financial performance within parts of the state-owned sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SOE revenue rose by more than <strong>GH\u00a238 billion between 2024 and 2025<\/strong>, according to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SIGA also reported improvements across several sectors and a decline in finance costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The dispute, therefore, is not simply over whether SOEs recorded a profit under the accounting framework used in the report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IMANI Africa Vice President Bright Simons has challenged SIGA\u2019s reported GH\u00a219.8 billion profit for Ghana\u2019s state-owned enterprises, questioning the impact of currency gains and historical figures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1088"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1090,"href":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1088\/revisions\/1090"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghanapunch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}