Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) closed 2025 with a net profit of 26.9 billion manats ($15.8 billion), 3.4 times higher than in 2024. The jump was driven mainly by a sharp rise in returns from the fund’s gold holdings.
According to SOFAZ’s financial statements, the fund’s total income reached 27.36 billion manats ($16.1 billion) in 2025, compared with just 7.5 billion manats ($4.4 billion) a year earlier. The surge in SOFAZ’s net profit was underpinned largely by gold investments.
Gold bullion holdings generated the bulk of the fund’s investment income during the reporting period. Income from gold climbed to 16.85 billion manats ($9.91 billion), roughly five times the 3.39 billion manats ($1.99 billion) recorded in 2024.
Bond and equity returns climb
Income from bond investments reached 4.14 billion manats ($2.44 billion), about 6.1 times the 680.17 million manats ($400.1 million) booked in 2024. Returns from equity investments rose to 5.292 billion manats ($3.11 billion), up 64.7% from 3.2 billion manats ($1.89 billion) a year earlier.
Income from private equity funds reached 360.87 million manats ($212.3 million), up 4.2% from 346.2 million manats ($203.7 million) the previous year. Returns from infrastructure fund investments rose to 98.08 million manats ($57.7 million), 3.1 times the 31.63 million manats ($18.6 million) recorded in 2024. Income from investment property, however, fell 13.9% to 73.18 million manats ($43.0 million).
Some investment areas post losses
Not all of the fund’s investment lines performed positively. Real estate funds recorded a loss of 14.05 million manats ($8.3 million), reversing a profit of 32.29 million manats ($19 million) from the same segment in 2024.
Derivative financial instruments swung the other way, posting income of 25.4 million manats ($14.9 million) after a loss of 6.35 million manats ($3.7 million) in 2024. Losses from exchange-rate differences on financial instruments measured at amortized cost shrank sharply to just 809,000 manats ($476,000), down from 108.05 million manats ($63.6 million) in 2024.
Interest income calculated using the effective interest rate method totaled 154.64 million manats ($90.97 million), down 29.2% from the previous year. Other income items fell 17.5% to 31.94 million manats ($18.8 million). Income from SOFAZ’s share in joint ventures, after tax, rose 71.3% to 43.64 million manats ($25.7 million), up from 25.47 million manats ($15 million) in 2024.
Expenses rise, assets top 125.7 billion manats
SOFAZ’s operating expenses climbed to 140.93 million manats ($82.9 million) in 2025, up 78.2% from 79.1 million manats ($46.5 million) in 2024. The income tax paid by the fund fell 37.9% to 2.97 million manats ($1.75 million), down from 4.78 million manats ($2.8 million) a year earlier.
As of January 1, 2026, SOFAZ’s assets stood at 125.72 billion manats ($73.95 billion), up 22.5% year-on-year. The fund’s liabilities reached 471.7 million manats ($277.5 million), an 11.3% increase from the end of 2024. SOFAZ’s capital also grew 22.5% over the year to 125.25 billion manats.
Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund was established on December 29, 1999, by presidential decree. Its core mission is to accumulate and manage revenues from the exploration and development of the country’s oil and gas resources, as well as from its own operations, for the benefit of current and future generations.
