Farooq Awan

Pakistan’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) operated a combined asset base of Rs37.99 trillion during fiscal year 2025, while key financial performance indicators, including asset turnover and returns, showed declines, according to the Federal State-Owned Enterprises Annual Aggregate Report FY2025.

The report states that total assets of the SOE portfolio stood at Rs37,988 billion at the end of the fiscal year, compared with Rs38,436 billion recorded in FY2024, reflecting a marginal decrease of around 1 percent.

Total liabilities were reported at Rs31.74 trillion, down from Rs32.57 trillion a year earlier. Net equity increased by 7 percent to Rs6.25 trillion during FY2025, primarily reflecting capital injections and recapitalization measures recorded during the year.

Despite the size of the asset base, the report shows that overall asset productivity indicators declined. Asset turnover, calculated as total revenues divided by total assets, fell to 0.33 times in FY2025 from 0.35 times in FY2024. Aggregate revenues of SOEs were recorded at Rs12.43 trillion during the year, compared with Rs13.52 trillion in the previous fiscal year.

The report also presents return indicators for the SOE portfolio. Net return on equity (ROE) stood at negative 1.96 percent, compared with negative 0.52 percent in the previous year. Return on assets (ROA) was recorded at negative 0.32 percent, compared with negative 0.08 percent previously.

Operating cost recovery ratios also reflected changes during the year. For loss-making SOEs, the operating cost recovery ratio declined to 0.80 from 0.84. This indicates that these entities generated Rs80 in revenue for every Rs100 spent on operational activities. For profit-making SOEs, the ratio decreased to 1.10 from 1.14. Sector-wise data provided in the report shows variations in asset holdings and performance across industries.

The financial sector reported assets of Rs12.10 trillion. Infrastructure, transport and information and communication technology entities held assets of Rs8.00 trillion. SOEs in the oil and gas sector reported assets of Rs7.39 trillion, while power-sector entities recorded assets of Rs8.42 trillion.

Manufacturing, mining and engineering SOEs accounted for Rs927 billion in assets. Trading and marketing entities reported assets of Rs1.07 trillion, while industrial estate development and miscellaneous entities held comparatively smaller asset bases. The report notes that accumulated historical losses across SOEs reached Rs6.85 trillion by the end of FY2025. Total debt across the SOE portfolio stood at Rs9.57 trillion.

These figures are compiled as part of the federal government’s annual consolidated review of financial and operational performance of state-owned enterprises across sectors including power, oil and gas, financial services, infrastructure, manufacturing and other public enterprises for the fiscal year ended June 2025.

Credit: INP-WealthPk