SETAO, a Bouygues Bâtiment International unit listed in Abidjan since 1998, showed significant financial improvement in 2025, narrowing its net loss while experiencing a substantial revenue surge. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the company posted a net loss of 96.6 million XOF ($172,400), a sharp improvement compared to the 348.2 million XOF ($621,500) net loss recorded in 2024, according to provisional financial statements published on April 10, 2026. This positive shift was primarily driven by a more than doubled total income, including other products and charge transfers, which reached 3.88 billion XOF ($6.9 million) from 1.79 billion XOF ($3.2 million) in the previous year. This revenue growth was largely attributed to the continuation of preliminary works at Abidjan's Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, which served as SETAO's reference project throughout 2025.

Despite the notable revenue increase, costs also rose in tandem. Purchases and direct charges amounted to 3.72 billion XOF ($6.6 million), resulting in a thin positive value added of 154.2 million XOF ($275,300), a significant recovery from the negative value added of 453.9 million XOF ($810,200) in 2024. However, personnel costs and net depreciation charges pushed the operating result back into the red, with a negative 772 million XOF ($1.4 million), though this was an improvement from the negative 1.01 billion XOF ($1.8 million) reported a year earlier. A positive financial result and a substantial 549.3 million XOF ($980,500) gain from extraordinary items brought the result before tax close to breakeven at 4.3 million XOF ($7,700).

The company's balance sheet contracted, with total assets decreasing to 5.45 billion XOF ($9.7 million) from 7.38 billion XOF ($13.2 million). This contraction was accompanied by a fall in current liabilities and a sustained positive treasury. Equity, however, declined to 356.7 million XOF ($636,700) from 453.3 million XOF ($809,100) in 2024, reflecting accumulated losses. No dividend was proposed for the year, and SETAO carried forward a cumulative loss of 1.5 billion XOF ($2.7 million) into 2026. Operating cash flow remained negative, a consequence of the timing of working capital movements associated with its large contracts.

SETAO's journey toward sustainable profitability is intrinsically linked to the acceleration of large public infrastructure contracts within Ivory Coast. The company has a history of building landmark projects, including the third bridge in Abidjan, the Yopougon university hospital, and the CAP Sud shopping centre extension. However, it has reported consecutive net losses since at least 2022 due to a thinning pipeline of new contract awards and persistently elevated costs. The ongoing modernization program at Félix-Houphouët-Boigny airport, which currently handles over 3 million passengers annually and is being upgraded to handle 6 to 8 million, is a crucial part of this strategy.

Further bolstering SETAO's prospects is Ivory Coast's government public investment program for 2025–2027, which prioritizes infrastructure, urbanization, and transport. This includes significant projects like the Abidjan Metro, a 1.36 billion euro undertaking led by a Bouygues-headed consortium, with metro stations built by SETAO, expected to commence commercial service in 2027. This robust pipeline provides SETAO with a credible project backlog. Nevertheless, the company's thin equity base and substantial accumulated losses leave it with limited financial resilience against further earnings deterioration, necessitating careful management to address its capital position for long-term sustainability.