Fuel giant GOIL’s debt mountain rises amid strategic investments

Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL PLC) has posted a resilient yet nuanced financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2025, as detailed in its latest unaudited statements. 

The state-owned oil marketing giant saw its Group profit after tax inch marginally higher to GH¢85.9 million, up from GH¢84.7 million in 2024, even as total revenue declined by approximately 12 per cent to GH¢17.1 billion.

A deeper analysis of the financial position reveals a significant expansion of the company’s total assets, which grew by over GH¢419 million to reach GH¢5.23 billion. 

However, this growth is shadowed by a substantial increase in liabilities, particularly short-term obligations.

Group accounts payable ballooned to GH¢3.4 billion from GH¢2.63 billion the previous year, while short-term loans, though reduced from GH¢623.3 million to GH¢274.3 million, remain a considerable burden. 

The company’s cash flow statement underscores a tight liquidity position, noting a net “Cash and cash equivalents” balance of just GH¢1.69 million at the Group level, starkly contrasted against a GH¢320.68 million bank overdraft.

In a statement embedded within the report, the company affirmed, “The financial statements do not contain untrue statements, misleading facts or omit material facts to the best of our knowledge.” 

The report also shed light on GOIL’s strategic investments, particularly its 60 per cent stake in the joint venture African Bitumen Terminal Limited (ABTL), established with Societe Multinationale De Bitumes of Côte d’Ivoire. Total investment in ABTL, comprising “both equity and shareholder loans, amounts to Ghc264,296,962.31,” and is accounted for using the equity method.

The company’s earnings per share for shareholders remained virtually static at GH¢0.215.

While the bottom-line profit shows stability, the financial statements paint a picture of a company aggressively investing and expanding its asset base—as seen in a GH¢234.8 million acquisition of fixed assets—while navigating significant creditor financing and a constrained cash position, setting the stage for a critical period of operational and financial management in the coming year.