BOST Clears US$611m Debt

The Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) says it has paid about US$611 million out of a debt portfolio of US$622.7 million.

The remaining US$11.7 million, the company stated, is expected to be cleared by the end of next year. Out of the payment, the company’s internally generated funds (IGF) accounted for 70 per cent (US$426 million), with the government providing 30 per cent through the Energy Sector Levy Act (ESLA) bond.

The company also increased its profit-after-tax to GHS164 million in 2021 from GHS2 million recorded in 2020, 82 times compared to the 2020 figure recorded.

Marlick Adjei, Head of Corporate Communications and External Affairs at BOST, who disclosed this to the media, said among other things, the administrative expenses of BOST recorded a drastic reduction over the period with a record of GHS228.1 million in 2021 with staff a strength of 496 compared to a sum of GHS538.3 million in 2016 with a staff strength of 347. The drastic reduction in administrative expenses was attributed to the prudent management of operations by the current management team.

In 2021, BOST generated a revenue of about GHS1.12 billion compared to GHS632.7 million recorded in 2020. BOST is also undertaking initiatives to stay on track in the execution of its mandate. These include the rehabilitation of 12 of its 15 storage tanks which stood decommissioned as at January 2017, revamping of its transmission lines and the rehabilitation of the tugboat and barges, which are all contributing to the revenue streams of the company. This has kept the firm active and is presently exporting petroleum products to Mali. The company’s export to Mali has grown from 0.3 per cent in 2019 to six percent, a remarkable achievement.

The company was ranked 8th on the Public Enterprises League Table in 2020.

BOST’s 2021 financial performance could push it among the first five properly run State Owned Enterprises in Ghana.