Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh has observed that State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) can generate profits, pay dividends and make significant contributions to support the government’s fiscal policies.

He however underscored the need for the right leadership, attitude, and balance aimed at ensuring that these SOEs make significant progress in their respective sectors.

Speaking at the 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST), the Minister said “I expressed satisfaction and admiration for the company’s financial accomplishments; moving from a negative equity position in 2021 to a positive one in 2022. This has put the company on a sound footing to pay dividends to the government”.

“This, indeed is a testament that, with the right leadership, attitude, and balance, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) can generate profits, pay dividends and make significant contributions to support the government’s fiscal policies. I congratulate the Board and Management of BOST for this remarkable feat”.

He disclosed that the Ministry of Energy will continue to engage in healthy collaboration with stakeholders such as SIGA and the Ministry of Public Enterprises to make BOST and indeed, all SOEs in the energy space live up to expectation.

The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Limited Company (BOST) recorded a whopping profit of GH₵342m profit in 2022. This means the net profit margin of BOST increased from GH₵161 million in 2021 to GH₵342 million in 2022.

The GH₵181m difference is a percentage increase of 112%.

“The transformation that BOST has undergone over the past three years is truly remarkable. The company has been turned from a heavily indebted one to a highly profitable one. In 2022, BOST increased its net profit by 112% to GH₵342 million from GHS161 million in 2021. This performance should be viewed in the context of a miserable run of losses which had been recorded for more than a decade until 2021,” the board chairman of BOST, Ekow Hackman, disclosed at the 2nd annual general meeting held in Accra on Thursday, August 17.

Hackman attributed the achievement to its strategic decision to revamp its business model.

“Central to our transformation has been the restoration of our business model, which involves the effective utilization of our strategically located fuel depots connected by a network of pipelines and barges. The revival of these assets has enabled us to deliver fuel products securely and cost-effectively to consumers across the country. Through the dedicated efforts of our management and workforce, we have significantly increased the revenue-generating assets of the company to 97% from a trough of 34% in 2017. We are committed to ensuring that 100% of our assets are generating revenue by the end of 2023.”

He added, “The increase in the BOST margin from 7 pesewas to 9 pesewas in December 2022 provided them with the necessary resources to repair and maintain BOST’s facilities, many of which are situated in areas where the private sector is absent.”