The Finance Ministry on Friday issued a report stating that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) had incurred 300% higher losses in FY25 as compared to a year earlier, with 25 SOEs recording an aggregate loss of Rs. 832 billion.
According to the report, total losses in FY25 reached Rs. 123 billion compared to Rs. 30.6 billion in FY24. The highest losses were incurred by the National Highway Authority (NHA), Rs. 294.9 billion, followed by Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO), Rs. 112.7 billion, Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO), Rs. 92.7 billion, Pakistan Railways, Rs. 60.3 billion, and PIA Holding Company Limited, Rs. 48.9 billion.
Other loss-making SOEs, per the report, include the National Power Parks Management Company, Rs. 46.1 billion, Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Company, Rs. 29.4 billion, Pakistan Steel Mills, Rs. 26 billion, and Sukkur Electric Power Company, Rs. 25.3 billion. The Pakistan Post Office recorded losses of Rs. 19.3 billion, Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation Rs. 19 billion, Hyderabad Electric Supply Company Rs. 12.9 billion, Lahore Electric Supply Company Rs. 12.7 billion, and GENCO-II Rs. 10.3 billion.
Additional SOEs that saw losses were the National Insurance Company with Rs. 2.9 billion, CPPA-G Rs. 2 billion, Islamabad Electric Supply Company Rs. 1.4 billion, Pakistan Television Corporation Rs. 600 million, Private Power and Infrastructure Board Rs. 470 million, Pakistan Expo Centers Rs. 220 million, Hazara Electric Supply Company Rs. 40 million, National Construction Limited Rs. 30 million, and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation Rs. 30 million.
The report said profit-making SOEs posted an aggregate profit of Rs. 709 billion in FY25, with earnings heavily concentrated among a small group of entities, including Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (Rs. 169.9 billion); Pakistan Petroleum Limited (Rs. 89.9 billion); National Bank of Pakistan (Rs. 56.7 billion); Water and Power Development Authority (Rs. 52.3 billion); and Government Holdings (Private) Limited (Rs. 48.5 billion).
Other major profit generators include Karachi Port Trust (Rs. 35.3 billion), Port Qasim Authority (Rs. 35.1 billion), Pak Arab Refinery Company (Rs. 22.2 billion), Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (Rs. 20.4 billion), State Life Insurance Corporation (Rs. 14.8 billion), SNGPL (Rs. 14.6 billion), Pakistan State Oil (Rs. 14.2 billion), Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Rs. 13.7 billion), Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (Rs. 9.7 billion), Saindak Metals (Rs. 8.4 billion), NTDC (Rs. 7.6 billion), SSGPL (Rs. 7.4 billion for nine months), and PIACL (Rs. 6.8 billion for six months).
Overall in FY25, the balance sheet of SOEs saw a combination of positive and negative trends, as total equity increased by 7%, rising from Rs. 5,865.2 billion in FY2024 to Rs. 6,245.7 billion in FY2025. The report linked this growth to recapitalization efforts and significant equity injections, particularly in the power sector to clear circular debt. On the liabilities side, there was a moderate improvement, as total liabilities decreased by 3%, going from Rs. 32,570.5 billion to Rs. 31,742.4 billion.
Total assets remained largely unchanged, moving from Rs. 38,435.7 billion to Rs. 37,988.1 billion. However, fiscal support from the government grew by 37% to Rs. 2,078.5 billion. The government injected equity worth Rs. 728.9 billion in FY25, primarily to reduce circular debt and pay independent power producers. Similarly, government loans to SOEs climbed by 34% from Rs. 263.3 billion to Rs. 354.1 billion. Sovereign guarantees also increased from Rs. 1,419.0 billion in FY24 to Rs. 2,164.0 billion in FY25, a 52% boost.
Meanwhile, grants fell by 27% to Rs. 269.2 billion and subsidies by 7% to Rs. 726.3 billion.
In FY25, per the report, the federal government collected Rs. 12,970 billion in tax revenue, of which approximately Rs. 2,078 billion utilized for SOEs through subsidies, equity injections, grants, and loans.