The Federal Ministry of Finance has issued a report about the massive loss incurred by the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) for the first half (July to December 2024) of the financial year 2024-25, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.
As per the report, the state-owned enterprises caused a loss of Rs343 billion to the national kitty from July to December 2024.
Overall the loss of state-owned enterprises touched to Rs5,893 billion from July to December 2024.
The National Highway Authority (NHA) emerged as the biggest loss-maker, with its cumulative deficit reaching Rs19.53 trillion.
Power distribution companies (DISCOs) also continued to bleed money. The Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) reported losses of Rs58.10 billion in the six months, while Sukkur-based SEPCO lost Rs29.60 billion. SEPCO’s total losses have now climbed to nearly Rs473 billion.
Pakistan Steel Mills posted a six-month loss of Rs15.60 billion, pushing its total losses to Rs255.82 billion.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO) lost Rs7 billion during the same period.
Utility Stores Corporation caused loss of Rs4 billion to the national treasury.
Moreover, as per the half-yearly report, the SOEs earned Rs6.459 trillion in gross revenue during July to December 2024, a drop of 7.9% compared to the same period last year. The decline was mainly due to falling global oil prices and lower domestic interest rates, which hit the earnings of oil companies and banks.
Total profits for all SOEs fell to Rs457 billion. Loss-making companies recorded a combined loss of Rs343 billion. After adjusting for those losses, the overall net profit came to Rs114 billion, slightly better than the Rs101 billion profit recorded a year earlier.
The overall financial health of SOEs showed slight improvement. Their total liabilities increased by just over 1% to Rs31.09 trillion, while the value of their assets rose by 3.75% to Rs37.72 trillion.
As a result, their net equity the difference between assets and liabilities increased by nearly 19%, reaching Rs6.63 trillion.
Reporter: Waqas Azeem