Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is ready to inform its first annual gain in more than two decades, marking a significant change for the national carrier as it advances with plans to sell the airline, according to the documents seen by Bloomberg.
PIA registered profits per RS5.01 action for the year ending in December, its first profitable year since 2003, based on audited financial statements.
The results are expected to be presented to the airline board for approval before being publicly released. Pia did not respond to a request for comments.
The results mark a dramatic recovery for an airline that, in recent years, has faced increasing financial losses, including aircraft that are made up of foreign airports, canceled flights and close calls with non -compliance.
Regular government rescues were the main lifeguard for the airline, although these funds have now been exhausted.
Pakistan’s efforts to sell the airline last year failed, since the initial offer did not reach the minimum price of approximately $ 306 million. However, the government is making another attempt to privatize PIA, and initial offers are expected at the end of this month.
To make the sale more attractive, the government has eliminated around 75% of the airline’s debt of its books. The measure has led to a renewed interest of potential buyers, with companies that previously participated in the bidding process that now express greater confidence, according to Usman Bajwa, secretary of the Pakistan Privatization Commission, in February.
Operational profits in recent years have been compensated by the important burden of debt service.
However, PIA has been working to achieve operational profitability through the implementation of reforms, including the reduction of its workforce by almost 30%, the closure of non -profitable routes and the improvement of the use of the fleet.
