Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) reported a net loss of Rs. 4.6 billion in 2023, despite showing a one-off accounting profit of Rs. 26 billion, according to the Finance Ministry’s latest SOE report.
The reported profit resulted from the recognition of a Rs. 30 billion deferred tax asset (DTA) and does not reflect operational performance.
The Finance Ministry clarified that the DTA is a non-cash adjustment based on projected future taxable profits and should not be viewed as actual profitability. Excluding the DTA, the airline recorded a pre-tax loss of Rs. 4.58 billion for the year.
Following a major restructuring, Rs. 660 billion in legacy debt and non-core assets were transferred to a new holding company. This reduced PIA’s long-term liabilities from Rs. 295 billion to Rs. 13 billion and cut finance costs from Rs. 79 billion to Rs. 10 billion.
Operational costs remain high at Rs. 106.6 billion, including Rs. 8.3 billion in administrative and Rs. 8.2 billion in distribution expenses. PIA also incurred Rs. 2.3 billion in exchange losses due to unhedged currency exposure.
Total assets post-restructuring stand at Rs. 187 billion. Current liabilities declined from Rs. 482 billion to Rs. 142 billion, and non-current liabilities from Rs. 366 billion to Rs. 41 billion.
The report warned that PIA continues to face solvency risks and urged urgent reforms, including fleet modernization, fuel hedging, cost renegotiations, and performance-based HR policies.
The report concludes that operational recovery remains critical despite recent restructuring.