PIA Announces Profit of 11.5 Billion Rupees in the First Half of the Financial Year

The national airline company, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), announced in a statement on Tuesday a total profit of 11.5 billion rupees in the first half of 2025.
According to PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan, this profit is another milestone in the journey of revival of the national airline.
This statement from PIA regarding profit has come at a time when the government is making a new attempt to privatize PIA, which is a key condition of Pakistan’s 7 billion dollar IMF bailout package.
Due to continuous losses for almost two decades, the government stated that it is now unable to run it; therefore, the decision to privatize it was made. However, due to not finding suitable buyers and price, privatization has not yet been completed.
In the national airline’s latest financial report, it is stated that PIA’s “net revenue increased to 112 billion rupees, resulting in a total profit of 11.5 billion rupees and an operational profit of 10.83 billion rupees.”
In the statement, the spokesperson said that PIA’s performance has been so improved that shareholders directly benefited from it as well. “Now profit per share (whose original value is 10 rupees) has reached one rupee, which is a benchmark that could not have even been imagined a few years ago.”
These figures confirm that the airline is now on the path of financial recovery and growth.
According to the news agency Reuters, preparations are being made to privatize PIA by the end of this year.
The proposed sale of PIA will be the first major privatization in the country in nearly two decades.
The privatization of loss-making state-owned enterprises is a key part of the bailout program agreed upon with the IMF last year.
Last year, after the government took responsibility for about 80 percent of PIA’s old debts, there was a significant reduction in the company’s financial burden.
Last year, one attempt to privatize PIA failed when only one offer was received — and that too, far below expectations. However, now five local business groups have shown interest, including Air Blue, Lucky Cement, Arif Habib Investment, and Fauji Fertilizer. The final bid is expected by the end of this year.
The United Kingdom lifted a five-year ban on Pakistani airlines in July, after which PIA was again allowed to operate attractive flights to the UK. The European Union had also lifted similar bans by the end of last year.
It is estimated that due to the UK ban, PIA suffered an annual revenue loss of approximately 40 billion rupees, while London, Manchester, and Birmingham were among its most profitable routes.