Pakistan’s state-owned enterprises are once again under pressure. Fresh government data shows that SOE losses reached Rs 832.848 billion in fiscal year 2025. That pushed total accumulated losses to Rs 6.563 trillion. The numbers underline how deeply structural problems still run across key public entities.
The details come from the Federal State-Owned Enterprises annual aggregate report for fiscal year 2025, covering July 2024 to June 2025. The Central Monitoring Unit of the Finance Division released the report on Friday. It also flagged equity erosion of roughly Rs 3 billion per day among loss-making entities.
Mounting Losses Across Key SOEs
In total, 25 SOEs posted combined losses of Rs 832.8 billion during the year. The biggest hit came from the National Highway Authority, which reported a loss of Rs 294.9 billion. Power distribution companies followed closely. Quetta Electric Supply Company lost Rs 112.7 billion, while Peshawar Electric Supply Company reported Rs 92.7 billion in losses.
Transport and aviation also struggled. Pakistan Railways posted a loss of Rs 60.3 billion. PIA Holding Company Limited recorded Rs 48.9 billion in red ink. Other heavy loss-makers included National Power Parks Management Company at Rs 46.1 billion and Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Company at Rs 29.4 billion. Pakistan Steel Mills added Rs 26.0 billion in losses, while Sukkur Electric Power Company reported Rs 25.3 billion.
Several other entities also posted losses, though at smaller levels. These included Pakistan Post Office at Rs 19.3 billion, Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation at Rs 19 billion, Hyderabad Electric Supply Company at Rs 12.9 billion, Lahore Electric Supply Company at Rs 12.7 billion, and GENCO-II at Rs 10.3 billion. A long tail of smaller SOEs reported losses ranging from Rs 2.9 billion down to Rs 0.03 billion, including National Insurance Company, CPPA-G, Islamabad Electric Supply Company, Pakistan Television Corporation, Private Power & Infrastructure Board, Pakistan Expo Centres, Hazara Electric Supply Company, National Construction Limited, and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation.
At the same time, aggregate profits fell. Profit-making SOEs generated Rs 709.9 billion in fiscal year 2025, down 13 percent from Rs 820.7 billion in 2024. Lower international oil prices reduced returns from the oil sector. On the positive side, total losses declined slightly by 2 percent from Rs 851.4 billion to Rs 832.8 billion. Even so, the overall net adjusted loss widened sharply. It moved from Rs 30.6 billion in 2024 to Rs 122.9 billion in 2025.
The balance sheet showed mixed signals. Total equity rose 7 percent to Rs 6,245.7 billion, up from Rs 5,865.2 billion. The increase came mainly from recapitalization and equity injections, especially in the power sector to clear circular debt. Meanwhile, total liabilities fell 3 percent to Rs 31,742.4 billion. Assets remained broadly stable, slipping 1 percent to Rs 37,988.1 billion.
Profit concentration remains high. A small group of companies generated most of the Rs 709 billion in total profits. Oil and Gas Development Company Limited led with Rs 169.9 billion. Pakistan Petroleum Limited followed at Rs 89.9 billion. National Bank of Pakistan earned Rs 56.7 billion, while Water and Power Development Authority posted Rs 52.3 billion. Government Holdings Private Limited contributed Rs 48.5 billion.
Other strong performers included Karachi Port Trust at Rs 35.3 billion, Port Qasim Authority at Rs 35.1 billion, Pak Arab Refinery Company at Rs 22.2 billion, Pakistan National Shipping Corporation at Rs 20.4 billion, and State Life Insurance Corporation at Rs 14.8 billion. Overall, nearly 90 percent of profits came from a handful of SOEs. These entities continue to offset persistent losses elsewhere in the portfolio.
PTCL’s Losses and Fiscal Impact
The report also included Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited. The company reported a net loss of Rs. 10.462 billion in FY25, pushing its accumulated losses to Rs. 50.150 billion, according to the Federal State-Owned Enterprises Annual Aggregate Report 2025 released by the Central Monitoring Unit (CMU) of the Finance Division.
Although PTCL is privatized and not classified as a traditional SOE, it was included in the report for reporting purposes due to the government’s shareholding. The report highlighted a continued decline in PTCL’s legacy product revenues. However, the company contributed Rs. 18.927 billion in other tax payments, reflecting telecom consumption’s role in generating indirect tax revenue.
However, government support also increased. Fiscal backing rose 37 percent to Rs 2,078.5 billion, compared to Rs 1,512.9 billion last year. Equity injections alone reached Rs 728.9 billion, largely tied to one-off circular debt clearing and payments to IPPs. Government loans climbed 34 percent to Rs 354.1 billion. In contrast, grants fell 27 percent to Rs 269.2 billion, and subsidies dropped 7 percent to Rs 726.3 billion. Sovereign guarantees jumped 52 percent to Rs 2,164.0 billion, mainly due to accounting treatment of self-liquidating guarantees.
The fiscal math is striking. The federal government collected Rs 12,970 billion in tax revenue in FY2025. Of that, about Rs 2,078 billion, or roughly 16 percent, went back to SOEs. In simple terms, for every Rs 6 collected in taxes, Rs 1 flowed to these enterprises.
SOEs also contributed Rs 2,119.2 billion to the government, up 7.5 percent from Rs 1,971.2 billion. Dividends rose sharply by 81 percent to Rs 149.6 billion. Tax payments from SOEs increased 17 percent to Rs 436.9 billion. Still, non-tax revenues declined 10 percent to Rs 1,264.9 billion due to volatility in commodity-linked streams. Interest payments on government loans surged 133 percent to Rs 267.8 billion, signaling heavier reliance on rollovers.
As a result, the Net Fiscal Flow dropped steeply. It fell from Rs 458.2 billion to just Rs 40.7 billion. That marks a sharp decline in net cash returns to the government.
Debt levels also moved higher. Total portfolio debt rose 4 percent to Rs 9,571.1 billion. Cash development loans increased 21 percent to Rs 2,146.2 billion. Foreign re-lent exposure grew 24 percent to Rs 2,159.1 billion. Bank borrowing stayed almost flat at Rs 2,804.3 billion. Other debt fell 48 percent to Rs 277.2 billion, while accrued interest eased to Rs 2,184.5 billion.
Unfunded pensions stand at Rs 2,030 billion, excluding Pakistan Railways, which reports pensions on a cash basis. Meanwhile, circular debt in the power sector declined from Rs 2,440.4 billion to Rs 1,889.9 billion due to equity injections and balance sheet adjustments. Gas-sector circular debt remained near Rs 2.0 trillion. On a full-accrual IFRS basis, total circular debt dropped from Rs 4,517 billion to Rs 3,929 billion.
Taken together, the report shows a portfolio that still leans heavily on a few profitable giants. At the same time, large structural losses continue to demand fiscal support. For policymakers, the trade-off is becoming harder to ignore.
