In a bid to tackle its financial crisis, Pakistan is looking to sell a 51-100% stake in its national airline PIA
Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC) has planned to acquire majority stakes in the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), it revealed in a filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday.
The filing stated that its board of directors has approved submission of expression of interest (EOl) and prequalification documents to the Privatization Commission in relation to the potential acquisition of stakes in Pakistan International Airlines, and the undertaking of a comprehensive due diligence exercise in this regard.
The Privatisation Commission recently extended the deadline to submit bids for PIA from June 3 to June 19. In a bid to tackle its financial crisis, Pakistan is looking to sell a 51-100% stake in PIA. However, past attempts to privatize the carrier have faced challenges.
A previous attempt to privatize PIA in 2024 failed after the government received just one offer from the Blue World City consortium. The bid — PKR 10 billion for a 60% stake — fell far short of the Privatization Commission's benchmark valuation of PKR 85 billion and was consequently rejected.
For the year ended December 2024, the airline posted an operating profit of approximately PKR 9.4 billion and a net profit of PKR 26.03 billion, with earnings per share rising to PKR 5.01. This marks a sharp turnaround from 2023, when the company reported a net loss of PKR 104 billion — equivalent to a loss of PKR 20 per share.
The last time PIA reported an annual profit was in 2004, when it posted after-tax earnings of PKR 2.3 billion. In the years that followed, the airline accumulated over PKR 600 billion in losses between 2005 and 2024, reflecting a prolonged period of financial decline.
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