Pakistan’s PIA swings to H1 profit as privatisation push gathers pace

KARACHI :Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) posted a pre-tax profit in the first half of 2025, which a company source said is its first such for the period in about two decades, ahead of a planned sale of the national carrier later this year. PIA, part of PIA Holding Company, recorded a pre-tax profit of 11.5 billion Pakistani rupees ($40.64 million) in the six months to June, compared with the same period in 2024 when it remained in a loss before taxes and only managed a rare annual profit through deferred tax adjustments. Net profit for the current half year stood at 6.8 billion rupees. The disclosure comes as Islamabad presses ahead with a fresh attempt to privatise the airline, a key condition under Pakistan's $7 billion IMF bailout. A company source said it was the state-run airline's first such profit since 2004. Financial records before 2014 are no longer publicly available on the airline's and the stock exchange's websites. The planned sale of Pakistan International Airlines would mark the country’s first major privatisation in about two decades, with divestment of loss-making state firms a central plank of last year’s bailout.

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High fuel and service costs continue to weigh, but a steep drop in finance costs after Islamabad assumed about 80 per cent of PIA’s legacy debt last year was a decisive factor in its return to profit. Despite the gain, PIA’s equity remains negative, underscoring the fragility of its turnaround. A previous privatisation attempt collapsed last year after a single lowball offer was received, but the government has since drawn interest from five domestic business groups including Airblue, Lucky Cement, investment firm Arif Habib and military-backed Fauji Fertilizer. Final bids are expected later this year. Britain lifted in July a five-year ban on Pakistani airlines imposed after a fatal 2020 crash and a pilot licensing scandal, allowing PIA to reapply for lucrative UK routes. The move follows similar steps by the European Union late last year. PIA had previously estimated an annual revenue loss of around 40 billion rupees from the British ban, with London, Manchester and Birmingham among its most profitable routes.

($1 = 283.0000 Pakistani rupees)